SB 

193 


UC-NRLF 


SB    70 


KILLEBREW 


Agrj.  -  Forestry  -  Main  Library 


GRASSKS 


KORAGE  PLANTS 


BY- 


J.  B.  KILLEBREW,  A.M.,  Ph.D, 
vS 


BULLETIN  OF  THE 

AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  TENNESSEE, 


VOL.  XI.  1898.  Nos.  2,  3  &  4. 


PRINTED  FOR 
UNIVERSITY  OF  TENNESSEE  PRESS, 

BY 
S.  B.  NEWMAN  &  CO.,  KNOXVILLE. 

1899. 


THE  AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION 


OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  TENNESSEE. 


CHAS.  W.  DABNEY,  President. 


EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE. 

O.  P.  TEMPLE.  T.  F.  P.  ALLISON. 

JAMES  COMFORT.  J.  W.  CALDWELL. 

TREASURER:'  SECRETARY: 

JAMES  COMFORT.  J.  W.  GAUT. 

STATION  OFFICERS: 

DR.  CHAS.  W.  DABNEY,  President. 

ANDREW  M.  SOULE,  Agriculturist. 

R.  L.  WATTS,  Horticulturist. 

CHARLES  A.  MOOERS,  Chemist. 

S.  M.  BAIN,  Botanist. 

J.  B.  KILLEBREW,  Grass  Expert. 

F.  H.  BROOME,  Librarian. 

JOHN  R.  FAIN,  Farm  Manager. 

P.  O.  VANATTER,  Assistant  for  Plat  Work. 

GEORGE  A.  FLICKENGER,  Dairyman. 

The  Station  has  facilities  for  analyzing  and  testing  fertilizers,  cattle 
foods,  milk  and  dairy  products;  seeds  with  reference  to  their  purity  or 
germinating  power;  for  identifying  grasses  and  weeds,  and  studying  for- 
age plants;  for  investigating  the  diseases  of  fruits  and  fruit  trees,  grains 
and  other  useful  plants. 

Packages  by  express,  to  receive  attention,  should  be  prepaid. 
All  communications  should  be  addressed  to  the 

AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION, 

Knoxville,  Tennessee. 


Experiment  Station  building,  containing  its  offices,  labora- 
tories and  museum,  and  the  plant  house  and  horticultural  department,  are 
located  on  the  University  grounds,  fifteen  minutes  walk  from  the  Custom 
House  in  Knoxville.  The  Experiment  farm,  dairy  barn,  stables,  milk 
laboratory,  etc.,  are  located  one  mile  west  of  the  University,  on  the 
Kingston  pike.  Farmers  are  cordially  invited  to  visit  the  buildings  and 
experimental  grounds. 


Bulletins  of  this  Station  will  be  sent,  upon  application,  free  of  charge,  to 
any  Farmer  in  the  State. 


^ 


NOTE. 

The  Tennessee  Experiment  Station  published,  in  1892  and  1894,  two 
bulletins  on  The  Grasses  of  Tennessee,  from  the  pen  of  Prof.  F.  Lamson- 
Scribner,  at  that  time  Botanist  of  the  Station,  now  Agrostologist  of  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture.  Part  I.  of  this  work  was  a 
handy  reference  book  of  information  as  to  the  general  character  and  qual- 
ity of  our  grasses;  Part  II.  was  a  handbook  of  the  grasses  of  the  State, 
with  full  descriptions  and  illustrations. 

The  present  publication  is  the  first  of  a  series  of  bulletins  which  will 
discuss  the  methods  of  cultivating  and  using  the  domesticated  grasses 
and  forage  plants  of  Tennessee,  of  establishing  and  maintaining  perma- 
nent meadows  and  of  harvesting  and  using  the  various  kinds  of  forage. 
It  is  designed  thus  to  complete  the  former  series. 

The  Station  has  been  fortunate  in  securing,  to  prepare  this  new  series, 
the  services  of  Col.  J.  B.  Killebrew,  A.  M.,  Ph.  D.,  probably  the  greatest 
authority  in  the  South  upon  the  culture  and  uses  of  grasses  and  forage 
plants,  whose  work  on  the  grasses  and  forage  plants  of  Tennessee,  pub- 
lished in  1878,  now  entirely  out  of  print,  remained  until  the  present  time 
the  best  manual  on  the  subject.  The  present  work  gives  the  result  of 
twenty  years'  additional  study  and  experience  in  the  cultivation  of  grasses 
and  forage  plants. 

The  analytical  engravings  of  grasses  in  this  Bulletin  were  made  by 
Prof.  F.  Lamson-Scribner.  A  few  of  the  larger  cuts  are  from  Scribner's 
translation  of  Haeckel's  "True  Grasses."  The  half  tone  engravings  are 
from  Tennessee  and  Southern  sources. 

CHAS.  W.  DABNEY,  President. 


901098 


PREFACE. 


This  is  a  practical  work  on  grasses,  prepared  by  a  practical  man,  for 
practical  farmers.  The  basis  of  the  work  is  the  author's  experience  on 
his  own  farm,  supplemented  by  his  observations  of  the  making  of 
meadows  and  pastures  in  nearly  every  state  and  territory  in  the  Union. 
This  experience  and  these  observations  have  been  fortified  by  a  diligent 
study  of  the  literature  on  grasses  in  this  country,  and  from  Great  Britain 
as  well. 

Among  the  works,  which  have  afforded  him  the  greatest  aid  are  the 
bulletins  issued  by  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  and  by 
the  various  experiment  stations.  He  is  especially  indebted  to  F.  L/amson- 
Scribner,  probably  the  most  accomplished  agrostologist  in  America,  for 
many  years  botanist  of  the  Tennessee  station,  now  of  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture.  The  works  of  Rev.  C.  W.  Howard,  of  Geor- 
gia; of  Dr.  Phares,  of  Mississippi;  of  Dr.  Gattinger,  of  Tennessee;  of 
Prof.  J.  Stanton  Gould,  of  New  York;  of  Prof.  C.  L.  Flint,  of  Massachu- 
setts; of  Prof.  Beal,  of  Michigan;  of  Edmund  Murphy,  of  Ireland  and 
Margaret  Flues,  of  England,  have  been  freely  consulted,  and  to  all  of 
them  the  writer  acknowledges  his  indebtedness  for  valuable,  practical  sug- 
gestions. In  addition  to  these  the  agricultural  reports  of  the  various 
states  have  been  consulted.  The  old  files  of  the  "Rural  Sun"  contain 
many  admirable  articles  on  the  grasses,  and  these  have  been  frequently 
used. 

The  author  hopes  that  this  work  will  meet  the  demands  of  many 
farmers  of  Tennessee,  who  are  anxious  to  enter  more  extensively  upon 
the  cultivation  of  the  grasses,  and  that  it  will  supplement  the  excellent 
scientific  work  already  done  by  our  Experiment  Station  to  the  great  ben- 
efit of  agriculture  in  Tennessee.  J.  B.  KILLEBREW. 


GRASSES  AND  FORAGE  PLANTS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

No  vegetable  products  of  the  soil  are  of  such  transcendent  import- 
ance to  mankind  as  are  the  grasses.  Included  in  the  family  of  grasses  are 
all  the  cereals  that  furnish  the  important  bread-grains  upon  which  the 
largest  number  of  the  population  of  the  globe  subsists.  The  animals, 
domestic  and  wild,  that  furnish  meat  for  the  sustenance  of  the  most  civil- 
ized portion  of  the  human  family  feed  upon  grasses.  Indeed  it  is  difficult 
to  see  how  the  people  of  our  planet  could  survive  the  entire  destruction 
of  the  grass  family. 

The  vast  importance  of  grasses  in  the  creation  of  wealth  is  difficult 
to  estimate.  The  annual  production  of  hay  in  the  United  States  accord- 
ing to  the  eleventh  census  was  6(5,831,480  tons,  grown  on  52,948,797  acres. 


A.  Fragment  of  culm  of  wheat  with  sheath-node, 
somewhat  bent.  B.  Longitudinal  section  of  the 
same;  sk,  sheath-node;  hh,  point  of  insertion  of  the 
sheath.  C.  Andropogon;  the  sheaih  is  removed  on 
the  left  side  in  order  to  show  the  culm-node,  hk; 
sk,  sheath-node. 

having  a  farm  value,  taking  the  average  of  four  years,  of  $514,602,096. 
There  is  no  crop  that  surpasses  the  hay  crop  in  value.  The  corn  crop, 
one  year  with  another,  runs  nearly  equal  in  value.  The  wheat  crop  fol- 
lows with  an  annual  value  for  a  full  crop  of  $425,000,000.  This  is  followed 
by  the  cotton  crop,  the  value  of  which  rarely  exceeds  $300,000,000.  But 
in  this  estimate  of  the  value  of  grass  to  the  country  no  account  has  been 
taken  of  the  value  of  pastures.  In  area,  the  pasture  grasses  occupy  at 
least  two  acres  to  one  of  meadow  grasses,  and  the  value  of  their  annual 
production  cannot  be  less  than  that  of  the  meadows.  This  will  make  the 
total  approximate  value  of  the  grass  crop  $1,029,204,792.  The  making  of 


"two  blades  of  grass  to  grow  where  only  one  grew  before"  is  the  most 
certain  road  to  wealth  and  commercial  supremacy.  But  even  corn 
and  wheat  are  the  matured  fruit  of  the  grasses,  as  well  as  oats, 
rye,  barley,  rice  and  nearly  all  other  bread-grains  that  enter  into  the  com- 
merce of  the  country.  Exclude  the  grasses  from  agriculture  and  the 
value  of  farm  products  would  be  reduced  fully  five-sixths. 

HOW  TO  TELL  A  GRASS.— At  the  very  outset  several  important 
questions  likely  to  be  asked  by  the  unscientific  farmer,  should  be  an- 
swered. How  shall  I  tell  a  grass?  What  are  its  most  distinguishing 
characteristics?  How  shall  I  separate  it  from  other  forms  in  the  vegeta- 
ble kingdom?  Without  attempting  to  instruct  such  a  farmer  in  the 
science  of  botany  a  few  elementary  principles  may  be  laid  down,  which 
will  aid  him  in  determining  a  grass  from  other  lowly  forms  of  vegetable 
life  and  may  lead  him  to  a  more  extensive  study  in  this  delightful  field  of 
inquiry. 


Point  of  separation  of  the  sheath  (s)  and  blade 
(spr).  A.  \\\  Daclylis glomerata  L.  B.  In  Ammophila 
arundinacea  Host.  1.  Ligule.  C.  Flowering  glume 
of  Bromus  Alopecurus  Poir. 

1 — A  true  grass,  with  rare  exceptions,  has  either  a  hollow  stem;  or  it 
is  filled  with  pith,  like  Indian  corn  or  broom  grass,  commonly  called 
"broom  sedge." 

2 — A  cross  section  of  the  stem  is  circular  or  elliptical,  but  generally 
round. 

3— The  stem  or  stalk  or  culm  of  a  grass  is  divided  into  sections  and 
the  continuity  of  the  hollow  in  the  stalk  is  broken  by  cross  partitions. 
These  partitions  are  located  at  the  nodes.  The  parts  of  the  stalk  between 
the  nodes  are  called  joints  or  internodes.  In  other  words  the  stalk  or 
culm  is  separated  like  pipe  stems  or  fishing  poles  by  the  intervention  at 
intervals  of  a  solid  partition,  which  partition  closes  the  tube. 

4 — The  leaves  of  grasses  are  always  alternate,  that  is,  only  one  at  a 
joint.  The  leaves  have  a  sheath  that  encloses  the  stem,  but  this  sheath 


8 

is  never  a  solid  cylinder.  It  is  split  or  open  on  the  side  opposite  the  leaf. 
The  blade  of  the  leaf  is  narrow,  and  its  nerves  or  veins  are  parallel  to 
each  other,  forming  raised  ribs  on  the  underside  that  run  the  whole 
length  of  the  leaf.  In  grasses  the  third  leaf  overhangs  the  first  and  the 
fourth  overhangs  the  second.  In  sedges  the  fourth  leaf  will  stand  over 
the  first  and  the  fifth  over  the  second.  This  is  an  easy  way  of  distinguish- 
ing a  grass  from  a  grass-like  sedge.  Another  important  thing  to  remem- 
ber is  that  sedges  always  have  closed  sheaths. 


Rye.  Barley. 

Two  useful  plants  in  the  family  of  grasses. 


PART  I. 


DOMESTICATED  GRASSES. 

Between  the  Mississippi  River  and  Atlantic  ocean  there  are  known 
to  exist  about  295  species  of  grasses  indigenous  to  the  soil.  Between  the 
Mississippi  River  and  the  Rocky  Mountains  there  are  190  species,  60 
species  belonging  to  that  region  exclusively.  This  makes  a  total  of  355 
species  of  grasses  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Atlantic  ocean.  There 
are  250  that  have  been  found  between  the  Pacific  ocean  and  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  many  of  which  are  common  to  the  other  sections  of  country. 
It  may,  with  confidence,  be  said  that  there  are  not  less  than  350  grasses 
indigenous  to  the  United  States.  Nearly  one-half  of  these  are  found 
within  the  State  of  Tennessee.  Many  have  been  introduced  and  are  cul- 
tivated in  every  part  of  the  state,  and  some  of  the  indigenous  grasses  also 
have  been  domesticated.  A  considerable  percentage  of  them  are  valuable 
for  making  pastures  and  meadows  but  others  are  unmitigated  pests  and 
worthless  for  any  purpose  whatever. 

Out  of  all  this  number  of  grasses,  29  have  been  selected  for  discussion 
in  detail  in  this  bulletin.  The  grasses  selected  have,  in  nearly  every 
instance,  been  tested  not  only  in  the  various  experiment  stations  in  the 
south  and  especially  at  our  Experiment  Station  at  Knoxville,  but  they 
have  been  successfully  grown  by  the  farmers  of  the  state.  A  few  grasses 
have  been  mentioned,  not  for  the  purpose  of  recommending  them  for 

cultivation,  but  to  warn  the  farmers 
of  the  state  against  them. 

TIMOTHY—  (Phleum    praiense.}— 

(Meadow  Grass.) 
Named  for  Timothy  Hansen,  of 
North  Carolina,  who  introduced  it 
into  this  country  from  England  in 
1720.  Timothy  has  become  the  most 
popular,  the  best  known  and  the  most 
profitable  hay  grass  in  the  United 
States.  This  popularity  is  due  not 
altogether  to  its  superiority  in  nu- 
tritive elements,  but  largely  also  to 
the  fact  that  it  makes  the  standard 
hay  of  commerce,  with  which  all 
other  kinds  are  compared.  It  is  sold 
in  all  the  markets  of  the  country, 
and  its  price  is  quoted  in  all  the 
leading  commercial  journals.  In 
buying  this  hay  therefore,  one 
knows  precisely  what  he  is  paying 
for.  He  knows  how  much  to  feed 


Timothy — Phleum  pratense. 

1.   The  base  of  plant.    2.    Inflorescence. 
3.   Empty  glumes.    4.  Floret. 


10 

and  what  result  to  expect  from  it.  It  is  graded  like  cotton,  tobacco  and 
wheat,  and  it  is  the  only  hay  that  is  in  universal  demand.  -For  this  reason, 
more  than  for  any  other,  it  is  the  most  profitable,  because  the  sale  of  it  is 
most  certain. 

SOILS — Timothy  is  a  perennial  grass  and  grows  best  upon  a  moist, 
tenacious,  rich  soil.  It  does  not  thrive  on  high,  dry  or  sandy  lands, 
however  fertile  they  may  be.  The  best  situation  is  valley  land  having  a 
soil  rich  in  calcareous  matter  and  humus,  not  too  loose  or  friable  but 
with  a  sufficiency  of  clay  in  its  composition  to  make  it  reasonably  com- 
pact. Timothy  starts  slowly  in  the  spring  and  it  does  not  take  so  rank 
a  hold  upon  the  soil  as  many  other  meadow  grasses  do.  It  is  not  suited 
for  pasturage,  for  it  has  but  little  aftermath  and  the  tramping  of  stock 
soon  destroys  it. 

In  Tennessee  the  best  lands  for  its  growth  are  found  in  the  valley  of 
East  Tennessee  upon  calcareous  soils,  in  the  Central  limestone  basin  of 
Middle  Tennessee,  and  in  the  northern  and  western  counties  of  West 
Tennessee.  Many  of  the  bottom  lands  on  the  Cumberland  River  and  its 
tributaries  are  eminently  adapted  to  its  growth.  It  is  unfitted  generally 
for  the  dry  and  cherty  lands  of  the  Highland  Rim.  The  conditions  favor- 
able for  its  growth,  however,  may  be  found  in  the  elevated  basins  of 
Montgomery,  Robertson  and  Stewart  counties,  as  well  as  those  in  Frank- 
lin, Warren  and  other  counties  lying  at  the  western  base  of  the  Cumber- 
land Mountains  where  the  soils  have  a  large  content  of  the  carbonate  of 
lime.  On  all  the  bottom  lands  lying  on  the  streams  of  those  counties 
suitable  soils  are  found,  except  where  there  is  a  predominance  of  sand 
and  gravel.  Many  of  the  bottoms  lying  on  little  Tennessee  River  in  East 
Tennessee  and  on  Pigeon  River  are  admirably  adapted  to  the  growth 
of  timothy.  Powell's  Valley,  in  Claiborne  county,  furnishes  soils  capable 
of  growing  very  large  crops.  The  writer  has  seen  magnificent  timothy 
meadows  in  the  elevated  coves  near  the  top  of  the  Unaka  mountains  in 
Johnson  and  Carter  counties,  where  mists  and  rains  are  almost  of  daily 
occurrence  in  summer.  In  general  it  may  be  said  that  the  conditions 
most  favorable  for  the  growing  of  timothy  hay  are:  (1)  A  rich,  tenacious, 
calcareous  soil  with  some  humus;  (2)  a  situation  where  moisture  is  re- 
tained in  the  soil  throughout  the  growing  season,  but  in  connection  with 
good  drainage. 

PREPARATION— After  the  selection  of  a  suitable  soil  and  situation 
for  the  growth  of  timothy,  the  land  should  be  well  and  thoroughly 
broken.  The  depth  of  the  plowing  must  be  regulated  by  the  depth  of  the 
soil.  On  deep,  rich,  alluvial  bottoms  the  deeper  the  land  is  plowed  the 
better.  Care,  however,  must  be  taken  in  preparing  thin  soils  not  to  throw 
too  much  clay  to  the  surface,  for  this  will  impair  the  fertility  of  the  seed 
bed  and  prevent  the  young  plants  from  attaining  a  vigorous  vitality. 
When  the  soil  has  been  well  broken,  and  repeatedly  harrowed  until  it  is 
thoroughly  pulverized,  it  is  in  a  condition  to  receive  the  seed.  The  best 
time  for  sowing  this  grass  in  Tennessee  is  the  last  week  in  September  or 
the  first  week  in  October,  after  the  dry  hot  weather  has  been  tempered  by 
cool  nights,  heavy  dews  and  frequent  rains.  It  is  best  not  to  sow  the 
seed  until  the  ground  is  moistened  by  rain,  otherwise  the  heavy  dews  may 


11 

cause  the  seed  to  germinate  when  the  hot  suns  of  mid-day  are  likely  to 
destroy  the  young  plants. 

The  quantity  of  seed  to  be  sown  is  regulated  somewhat  by  the  char- 
acter of  the  soil.  On  rich,  heavy,  deep  soils  a  third  of  a  bushel  to  the 
acre  will  not  be  too  much;  on  thin  light  soils,  two  gallons  per  acre  will 
be  ample.  The  seed  may  be  sown  with  a  drill  and  probably  it  will  in- 
crease the  future  crop  for  the  land  to  be  afterwards  rolled.  The  sowing 
may  be  done  by  hand,  the  width  of  the  spaces  sown  being  regulated  by 
stakes.  Eight  feet  is  as  wide  a  space  as  one  should  attempt  to  sow.  It 
is  best  to  sow  the  land  with  one-half  of  the  seed  arid  then  cross-sow  it. 
This  will  insure  a  more  even  distribution  of  the  seed.  After  sowing  a 
light  drag  brush  or  roller,  or  both,  should  be  run  over  the  land  so  as  to 
slightly  bury  the  seed  and  produce  rapid  germination.  The  drag  brush 
used  for  this  purpose  should  be  light. 

The  best  crop  to  precede  timothy  is  tobacco,  or  some  clean-hoed 
crop.  The  next  best  is  a  crop  of  millet  or  Hungarian  -grass  sown  in  the 
summer  and  harvested  in  September.  This  leaves  the  land  clean  and 
free  from  any  noxious  vegetation.  Many  persons,  after  the  removal  of 
the  millet,  do  not  rebreak  the  land  but  harrow  it  well  and  immediately 
sow  the  timothy  seed.  With  such  preparation  they  claim  they  are  able 
to  secure  a  better  stand  than  in  any  other  manner.  This  result  is  no 
doubt  largely  dependent  upon  the  character  of  the  soil. 

Timothy  rarely  does  well  when  sown  with  wheat  or  rye  in  the  fall, 
or  with  oats  in  the  spring.  The  only  reason  assigned  for  thus  sowing  it 
is  that  it  saves  one  preparation  of  the  land,  but  in  trying  to  economize  in 
this  work  it  often  follows  that  the  wheat  crop  is  injured,  while  the  tim- 
othy crop  is  put  off  one  year  and  frequently  completely  fails.  It  is  a 
most  unusual  thing  to  get  a  good  stand  of  timothy  when  it  is  sown  with 
grain;  in  thus  sowing  it  there  is  great  danger  of  entirely  losing  the  seed 
or  of  having  a  meadow  spotted  with  many  vacant  places. 

Many  excellent  meadows  are  made  by  sowing  with  the  timothy  seed 
a  gallon  of  herd's  grass  seed  to  the  acre  with  a  slight  sprinkling  of  clover 
seed.  One  gallon  of  clover  seed  for  ten  acres  will  be  sufficient.  The 
hay  thus  mixed  has  more  richness  or  nutriment,  has  a  better  flavor,  is 
more  relished  by  stock,  and,  indeed,  is  a  complete  food.  At  the  same 
time  the  yield  is  greatly  increased.  The  amount  of  clover  will  not  be 
sufficiently  large  to  impair  the  keeping  qualities  of  the  hay  or  to  make  it 
easily  injured  by  dampness. 

CUTTING  AND  CURING— The  best  time  for  cutting  timothy  to 
make  the  largest  quantity  of  sweet  hay  is  when  it  has  stopped  blooming 
and  a  few  of  the  blooms  begin  to  fall.  The  best  cutting  stage  is  limited, 
extending  from  the  time  when  the  first  blooms  begin  to  fall  to  the  time 
when  the  first  dry  spot  appears  above  the  first  joint  and  half  the  blos- 
soms have  turned  brown.  If  mowed  before  the  blooms  begin  to  fall  the 
vitality  of  the  plant  will  be  endangered.  If  mowed  after  the  stalk  has 
become  hard,  the  hay  is  of  but  little  value  for  the  nourishment  of  animals. 
Cut  at  the  right  stage,  every  part  of  the  plant  is  palatable  to  stock.  The 
culm  or  stem,  which  forms  such  a  large  proportion  of  the  whole  at  this 
period,  is  soft  and  tender  and  the  blades  are  green  and  succulent  through- 


12 

out.  If  the  time  of  cutting  is  deferred  until  the  seed  begins  to  ripen 
many  of  the  blades  will  be  dry  and  the  stalk  will  be  yellow  and  hard  for 
a  considerable  portion  of  its  length.  It  will  be  woody,  indigestible  as 
food,  and  a  great  part  of  its  value  will  be  lost.  When  timothy  is  over- 
ripe it  has  very  little  more  value  than  oat-straw  for  feeding.  When  cut  in 
its  prime  it  has  no  superior  as  a  hay. 

Timothy  hay  cures  quickly.  It  should  remain  in  the  sun  only  long 
enough  to  assure  it  against  mould.  After  it  is  well  wilted  it  must  be 
raked  into  wind-rows  and  afterwards  made  into  small  cocks  four  feet  in 
diameter  at  the  base'  and  about  five  feet  high,  well  pointed  and  rounded 
off  at  the  top.  Within  a  day  or  two,  the  hay  will  be  cured  sufficiently  to 
put  into  permanent  ricks  or  stacks,  or  to  be  stored  in  an  open  shed, 
from  which  it  may  be  baled  and  sent  to  market  If  a  rain  should  unfor- 
tunately fall  while  the  hay  lies  in  wind-rows  or  in  cocks,  wetting  it  to  a 
considerable  depth,  it  must  be  immediately  opened  to  the  sunlight  until 
it  is  dried  out.  It  is  best  for  the  quality  of  the  hay  that  not  a  single  drop 
of  rain  fall  upon  it  and  that  it  be  cured,  as  far  as  possible,  with  the  least 
amount  of  sunshine.  This  method  will  make  sweet,  fragrant  and  nutri- 
tious hay  of  prime  quality  with  excellent  color. 

When  the  saving  of  seed  is  the  main  object,  timothy  should  not  be 
cut  until  the  heads  are  fully  ripe.  A  good  thick  stand  of  timothy  upon 
rich  land  should  yield  from  eight  to  twelve  bushels  of  seed  to  the  acre, 
weighing  45  pounds  to  the  bushel,  which  is  the  legal  weight  in  Tennes- 
see. Of  timothy  seeds  there  are  about  75,000  in  an  ounce. 

Heavy  rains  or  strong  winds  are  to  be  feared  after  the  heads  are  fully 
ripe,  for  they  beat  out  the  seeds  and  largely  diminish  the  yield.  In  cut- 
ting timothy  for  seed  the  self-binder  should  be  used,  and  the  grass  tied 
up  in  bundles  like  wheat  or  oats,  and  put  up  in  shocks  where  it  must 
remain  for  two  weeks  or  more,  until  it  is  dried  thoroughly  and  is  ready 
for  the  thresher.  The  fewer  times  the  bundles  are  handled,  after  being 
fully  dried,  the  less  will  be  the  loss  of  seed. 

The  yield  of  timothy  hay  on  fertile  valley  lands  sometimes  reaches 
three  or  four  tons  an  acre.  It  oftens  attains  a  height  of  five  feet  with 
heads  from  eight  inches  to  a  foot  in  length.  A  bottom  field  lying  on  Red 
river  in  Montgomery  county  was  sown  by  the  writer  in  1858  with  a  mix- 
ture of  timothy  and  herd's-grass.  It  was  sown  the  latter  part  of  Septem- 
ber. The  following  summer  thirty  tons  of  excellent  hay  was  sold  from 
ten  acres  and  two  or  more  tons  were  retained  for  home  consumption. 
The  soil  of  this  meadow  was  a  calcareous  loam  with  a  deep  red,  well- 
drained,  unctions,  clayey  subsoil.  The  meadow  lasted  for  twelve  years 
and  yielded  heavy  crops  of  hay  every  year,  until  it  was  finally  plowed  up 
to  give  place  to  a  tobacco  crop. 

Timothy  is  thought  to  be  a  great  exhauster  of  the  soil.  This  is 
doubtless  true,  but  its  capacity  in  this  respect  is  not  greater  than  that  of 
Indian  corn,  wheat  or  tobacco.  It  has  been  well  said  that  a  crop  that  does 
not  exhaust  the  soil  is  not  worth  gathering;  that  it  is  impossible  to  get 
from  the  soil  something  for  nothing.  The  duty  of  every  farmer  is  to 
restore  to  the  soil,  by  commercial  fertilizers  or  by  home-made  manures, 
some  of  the  valuable  nutritive  elements  that  are  taken  from  it  by  the 
crops. 


13 

STACKING  OR  RICKING  HAY— There  is  no  particular  skill  re- 
quired in  making  stacks.  A  pole  about  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  long  should 
be  planted  firmly  in  the  ground.  Around  this  a  platform  for  the  foun- 
dation of  the  stack  should  be  built.  This  should  be  ten  or  twelve  inches 
high  and  as  broad  as  the  proposed  diameter  of  the  stack.  The  bottom  of 
the  stack  or  rick  should  cover  this  platform  completely  and  for  the 
height  of  six  or  eight  feet  the  stack  should  be  broadened  out  so  as  to 
throw  any  rain  that  may  fall  upon  it  outside  of  its  base.  The  most  con- 
venient size  of  stack  for  a  majority  of  farmers  is  one  that  will  contain 
four  or  five  wagon  loads  of  hay,  a  quantity  that  may  be  hauled  up  in  a 
day  or  conveniently  accommodated  in  the  stock  barn.  When  a  stack  is 
once  broken  the  whole  of  it  must  be  carried  to  shelter  or  it  is  liable  to 
be  caught  and  injured  by  rain.  In  stacking,  the  hay  should  be  com- 
pacted around  the  pole  and  practice  alone  will  teach  one  how  to  preserve 
the  symmetry  of  the  stack  and  give  to  it  the  lines  of  beauty  and  utility. 
The  handrake  must  be  used  in  combing  down  the  sides  of  the  stack. 

A  rick  may  be  made  of  any  required  length  with  a  width  at  the  base 
of  from  12  to  15  feet.  This  width  should  be  gradually  increased  to  the 
height  of  seven  feet  or  more.  No  poles  are  necessary  in  the  making  of 
a  rick,  but  a  good  substantial  platform  for  the  hay  to  rest  upon  is  nec- 
essary. The  width  of  the  rick  after  the  height  of  seven  or  eight  feet 
should  be  gradually  contracted  like  the  roof  of  a  house.  The  rake  should 
be  freely  used  in  combing  the  sides.  It  is  necessary  when  first  put  up  to 
secure  the  top  against  strong  winds  by  passing  grass  ropes  over  the  rick 
and  fastening  them  to  the  ground  on  each  side.  These  ropes  must  be 
put  at  intervals  of  six  or  eight  feet  throughout  the  entire  length  of  the 
rick.  After  the  hay  has  been  well  settled,  the  ropes  may  be  dispensed 
with. 

The  use  of  hay  knives,  which  have  recently  been  introduced,  enables 
the  farmer  to  haul  away  just  such  quantites  of  hay  from  his  rick  as  he 
may  desire.  With  these  knives  a  vertical  section  is  cut  from  one  end 
cleanly  and  evenly  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  of  the  rick.  The  introduc- 
tion of  hay  knives  has  made  the  rick  more  popular  than  the  stack. 

Every  large  hay-grower  now  bales  his  hay.  The  most  popular  size  for 
a  bale  is  one  that  will  weigh  100  pounds.  A  bale  of  this  size  is  more  easily 
handled,  and  thus  adds  value  to  the  hay.  There  are  many  persons  who 
make  a  business  of  baling  hay,  going  from  farm  to  farm  like  those  en- 
gaged in  threshing  wheat.  They  charge  a  certain  price  for  baling  and 
furnishing  the  wire,  regulated  somewhat  by  the  prices  of  hay.  Every 
farmer  who  raises  more  timothy  hay  than  is  necessary  to  meet  the  re- 
quirements of  his  own  farm  should  bale  it  before  carrying  it  to  market. 
The  farmers  in  every  thickly  settled  community  would  do  well  to  sow 
timothy  enough  to  justify  them  in  buying  a  baling  press,  which  in  the 
marketing  of  800  or  400  acres  of  hay  will  pay  for  itself  in  a  single  year. 
The  press  could  also  be  used  in  baling  clover  hay  and  wheat  straw,  the 
latter  being  worth  when  baled,  four  dollars  per  ton  or  more. 
A  FEW  PRECAUTIONS— (1)  Do  not  sow  without  testing  before- 
hand the  power  of  germination  in  the  seed. 


14 


(2)  Do  not  sow  anything  but  clean   seed.     Examine  for  noxious   seeds 

with  a  magnifying  glass. 

(3)  Do  not  sow  when  the'  soil  is  very  dry  and  cloddy. 

(4)  Do  not  cover  the  seeds  to  a  greater  depth  than  one-fourth  of  an  inch. 

When  covered  2  inches  very  few,  if  any,  will  germinate. 

(5)  Do  not  pasture  a  timothy  meadow  at  any  time;  the  destruction  of  the 

bulbous  roots  will  soon  exterminate  the  grass. 

(6)  Do  not  cut  the  grass  below  the  first  joint. 

(7)  Do  not  forget  that  blue-grass  is  the  arch  enemy  of  a  timothy  meadow. 

Therefore  never  permit  stock  from  a  blue  grass  pasture  to  roam 
over  a  timothy  meadow. 

(8)  Do   not   fail  to   exterminate   all   bunches   of   "broom-sedge"   and   all 

"yellow  dock"  that  may  appear  in  the  meadow  during  the  sum- 
mer.    Never  let  these  go  to  seed. 

(9)  Above  all   do   not   forget  to   top   dress   your  meadow   with   suitable 

manure  in  the  fall  of  the  year  and  with  superphosphate  in  the 
spring.     Feed  your  meadow  and  it  will  feed  you. 

HERD'S  GRASS,  RED  TOP.  FINE  BENT,  FIORIN,  (Agrostis  alba 

or  Agrostis  vulgaris.}— (Pasture  and  Meadow.) 

Recent  botanical  investigations  have  determined  the  fact  that  herd's 
grass  is  greatly  modified  by  climate,  soil  and  situation.  The  most  appro- 
priate name  for  it  is  probably  agrostis  polymorpha,  on  account -of  the 
many  forms  which  it  assumes  when  subjected  to  different  conditions.  By 

whatever  name  it  may  be  des- 
ignated in  various  localities  it 
is  one  of  the  most  useful  agri- 
cultural grasses  of  the  south. 
It  will  grow  upon  every  soil, 
and  will  give  more  general 
satisfaction  to  the  farmer  than 
any  other  grass.  It  is  scat- 
tered over  the  whole  state  of 
Tennessee.  The  writer  has 
seen  it  growing  luxuriantly 
upon  the  hightest  mountains 
of  East  Tennessee,  as  well  as 
in  the  deepest  valleys;  on  the 
sandstone  soil  of  the  Cumber- 
land table-land,  and  upon  the 
cherty  soils  'of  the  highland 
rim.  It  sparkles  in  the  beauty 
of  its  verdure  on  the  lime- 

3.  ^K  '•  stone  soils  of  the  central  basin 

and     acquires     its     largest 
Herd's  Grass,  Red  Top- Agrostis  alba.  growth  in  the  sandy  river  and 

2.  Panicle.    3.  Spikelet.    4.  Empty  glumes.  creek   basing   of   Wegt   Tennes_ 

5.  Flowering  glume.  »•*«  •  1 

see.       There    is    no    place    in 
Tennessee  in  which  it  does  not  prove  a  profitable  grass  to  the  farmers. 


Even  upon  the  called  and  worn-out  soils,  if  sown  and  top  dressed  with  a 
small  quantity  of  stable  manure,  it  will  be  a  powerful  factor  in  the  recla- 
mation of  the  soil  and  at  the  same  time  it  will  yield  a  large  amount  of 
good  grazing.  It  is  not  only  a  good  meadow  grass  but  it  is  one  of  our 
best  pasture  grasses.  Grazing  indeed  is  almost  necessary  for  its  perpet- 
uation and  preservation.  It  loves  a  moist  soil  best  and  on  swampy  places 
that  are  unfit  for  the  growth  of  almost  any  other  useful  grass,  herd's  grass 
will  thrive  in  the  greatest  vigor. 

PERMANENT  AND  ADAPTED  TO  EVERY  SOIL— By  all  odds 
it  is  the  most  permanent  grass  for  all  soils.  Blue  grass  is  very  dainty  in 
the  selection  of  its  soil.  Timothy  must  have  moist  and  rich  but  not  wet 
soils.  Clover  even,  the  greatest  of  our  forage  plants,  will  only  grow  well 
upon  rich  calcareous  loams  but  herd's  grass  is  a  universal  feeder  and  as 
such  is  of  use  to  every  farmer,  whatever  may  be  the  character  of  his  soil 
or  the  location  of  his  farm. 

In  a  wet  soil,  especially,  herd's  grass  sends  out  is  long  creeping 
roots  and  takes  full  possession.  It  assumes  in  such  situations  a  stolini- 
ferous  form,  that  is  to  say  it  sends  out  shoots  from  the  base,  which  take 
root  at  every  joint  and  produce  a  thick  dense  sod.  A  pasture  of  herd's 
grass  where  it  is  well  set  is  much  valued  by  dairymen  everywhere  for  it 
will  bear  tramping  and  will  continue  its  growth  for  a  longer  period  dur- 
ing the  year  than  almost  any  other  grass.  When  the  grass  has  been  cut 
for  hay  its  aftermath  makes  the  very  best  late  summer  and  fall  pastures. 

A  HAY  AND  PASTURE  GRASS— It  does  not  rank  as  high  as  tim- 
othy as  a  hay  grass  but  as  a  combined  hay  and  pasture  grass  it  deservedly 
stands  at  the  head  of  all  economic  grasses  in  Tennessee.  When  sown 
upon  lands  inclined  to  be  wet  it  often  attains  a  height  of  four  feet.  The 
writer  has  seen  it  growing  in  the  sandy  creek  bottoms  in  Carroll  county 
five  feet  high  and  so  rank  as  to  yield  three  tons  of  hay  to  the  acre. 
Usually  upon  uplands  it  will  attain  to  a  height  of  from  two  to  three  feet. 
When  in  full  bloom  its  purplish  or  brownish  panicles  present  by  their 
feathery  undulations  a  most  charming  sight. 

WHEN  AND  WHERE  TO  SOW— Herd's  grass  may  be  sown  in 
the  fall  or  in  the  spring.  It  may  be  sown  alone  or  with  a  nurse  crop,  as 
wheat,  barley,  rye  or  oats.  If  the  farmer  should  desire  to  sow  it  for  a 
meadow  it  is  best  sown  alone,  about  the  first  of  October,  upon  land  well 
pulverized  by  plowing  and  frequent  harrowing.  One  bushel  of  seed  in 
the  chaff  is  not  too  much  to  sow  to  the  acre.  Of  clean  seed  half  that 
quantity  evenly  distributed  will  be  ample.  For  the  making  of  hay  it 
should  not  be  sown  upon  uplands,  unless  the  soil  is  very  fertile  or  the 
land  freshly  opened  to  cultivation.  While  it  is  the  best  of  all  grasses  for 
pastures  upon  thin  soils,  it  yields  upon  such  soils  but  a  small  quantity  of 
hay. 

In  England  it  is  supposed  to  grow  best  on  sandy  soils,  and  such  is 
the  experience  of  the  farmers  in  West  Tennessee,  but  in  other  parts  of 
the  state  the  best  results  are  obtained  by  sowing  it  upon  a  deep  calca- 
rous  loam.  It  makes  a  fair  meadow  grass  upon  the  sandy  soils  of  the 
Cumberland  table-land,  but  the  places  for  such  meadows  are  usually 
selected  in  creek  basins  where  the  sandy  soils  are  moist.  Notwith- 


16 

standing  this  grass  prefers  a  wet  soil,  it  has  the  ability  to  withstand  severe 
droughts  even  when  sown  upon  dry  uplands.  It  will  retain  its  verdure  late 
in  the  fait  and  even  in  winter  when  it  has  not  been  pastured  during  the 
summer  or  cut  for  hay.  Under  these  conditions  the  old  grass  falls  down 
and  forms  a  protection  for  the  young  sprigs  which  keep  green  during 
severe  frosts  and  hard  freezes.  Good  winter  pastures  of  this  grass  are 
especially  valuable  for  ewes  at  lambing  time,  the  green  grass  producing 
a  copious  flow  of  milk  when  the  young  lambs  most  need  it. 

Herd's  grass  is  often  sown  with  other  grasses  and  leguminous  plants, 
and  especially  with  timothy  and  clover.  These  additions  largely  increase 
both  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  hay,  but  they  do  not  permanently 
benefit  the  pasture,  as  the  clover,  being  a  biennial  plant,  soon  disappears 
and  timothy  cannot  survive  the  heavy  tread  of  cattle  or  the  compact 
tramping  of  sheep. 

For  stopping  gullies  no  grass  except  the  Bermuda  is  equal  to  herd's 
grass.  Like  Bermuda-grass  it  will  send  its  long  rhizomes  down  the  sides 
of  the  gullies  which  take  root  at  every  joint  and  will,  in  a  short  time, 
cover  the  silty  deposits  in  the  bottom  of  the  gullies.  This  mat  of  grass 
will  catch  and  hold  the  soil  carried  by  the  water  after  a  rain,  thus  grad- 
ually building  up  the  bottom  until  it  can  be  crossed  with  a  plow. 

WHEN  TO  CUT  FOR  HAY— The  proper  time  for  harvesting 
herd;s  grass  so  as  to  secure  the  best  quality  of  hay  is  when  in  full  flower 
or  as  soon  thereafter  as  possible.  When  seed  is  the  main  object  it  should 
not  be  cut  until  fully  ripe.  It  is  more  easily  cured  than  almost  any  other 
hay  grass.  Cut  in  the  morning  of  a  clear  day  after  the  dew  has  been  dis- 
sipated by  the  warmth  of  the  sun  it  should  be  ready,  unless  very  heavy, 
to  be  raked  up  into  windrows  in  two  hours,  and  put  into  cocks  in  the  late 
afternoon.  Remaining  in  cocks  for  another  clear  day  it  may  be  stacked 
or  ricked  without  the  least  danger  from  over-heating  or  fermentation  in 
the  stack.  If  there  should  be  any  doubt  in  this  respect  it  must  be  watched, 
however,  for  a  day  or  two,  and  if  an  undue  amount  of  heat  should  be 
generated  the  stack  should  be  torn  down.  Rarely  is  this  necessary  and 
care  should  be  taken  not  to  put  the  hay  in  stacks  until  it  is  fairly  well 
cured.  The  less  the  hay  is  exposed  to  the  sun  the  better  and  sweeter  it 
will  be.  Mr.  P.  H.  Marbury,  of  Warren  county,  Tennessee,  who  for 
many  years  was  a  most  successful  cultivator  of  this  grass,  thus  gives  his 
experience  with  it: 

"As  a  meadow  or  grazing  grass  it  is  very  valuable.  It  yields  on  good 
soil  from  a  ton  to  one  and  one-half  tons  of  superior  hay,  the  stems  and 
blades  much  fewer  and  somewhat  softer  than  timothy.  I  prefer  it  to 
timothy — my  stock  prefer  it.  For  grazing  it  is  very  valuable.  Upon 
land  where  limestone  is  absent  it  flourishes,  has  greater  tenacity  of  life, 
makes  a  sod  almost  impervious  to  hoof  and  tooth — in  fact  it  is  the  blue- 
grass  of  the  mountain  district.  We  have  but  little  lime  in  our  soils  and 
therefore  blue-grass  does  not  grow  well.  For  a  meadow  I  prepare  the 
soil  well  with  plow  and  harrow  and  sow  one  bushel  of  clean  seed  per 
acre,  one-half  one  way  and  then  sow  the  other  half  across  the  first  so  as 
to  avoid  leaving  spaces  unoccupied.  A  light  brush  may  be  dragged  over 
it  or  not,  as  is  preferred.  I  prefer  to  leave  it  without  brush  or  roller. 
The  roller  is  better  than  a  brush;  in  fact  it  prepares  the  surface  well  for 


17 


the  mower  or  scythe.  If  sown  alone  the  first  of  October,  a  crop  of  hay 
the  next  season  may  be  cut  perhaps  equal  to  any  it  will  ever  afterward 
yield  and  worth  more  than  a  crop  of  wheat  or  corn. 

"The"  time  to  cut  for  hay  is  just  before  the  seeds  ripen,  but  if  seeds 
are  desired  let  them  ripen,  and,  if  cut  immediately,  it  will  still  make  fine 
hay.  For  pastures  I  would  advise  a  mixture  of  orchard  grass  with  it. 
Orchard  grass  grows  well  in  the  same  soil  with  herd's  grass." 

The  seed  of  herd's  grass  is  very  easily  saved.  The  grass  may  be  cut 
with  a  self-binding  reaper  when  the  seed  attains  maturity.  The  bundles 
may  be  put  into  shocks  without  caps  and  the  seed  will  be  dry  enough  in 
a  few  days  to  thresh.  It  is  difficult  to  separate  the  chaff  from  the  seed 
as  the  seed  is  very  light  but  the  stand  will  be  just  as  good  to  sow  the 
seed  in  the  chaff  as  to  have  it  clean.  Herd's  grass  seed  in  the  chaff  sells 
low  and  there  should  be  no  stint  in  the  sowing.  Some  people  recom- 
mend the  sowing  of  two  or  three  bushels  to  the  acre  and  even  as  high  as 
four  when  a  dense  sod  is  wanted  in  a  lawn  or  pasture.  The  experience 
of  the  writer  is  that  one  bushel  to  the  acre  in  the  chaff  is  sufficient  when 
sown  for  pasture  upon  land  thoroughly  prepared. 

ORCHARD  GRASS—  (Dactylis  glomerata.)— (Pasture  and  Hay.) 

Orchard  grass  is  diffused  extensively  all  over  Europe,  from  Norway 
and  Russia  to  Portugal  and  is  also  found  growing  in  Northwestern 
Africa,  in  India  and  in  Asia  Minor.  It  is  cultivated  with  profit  in  all  the 
states  east  of  the  Mississippi  river  that  lie  between  35  and  47  degrees 
north  latitude,  and  in  nearly  every  state  between  the  Mississippi  river 
and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  In  New  York  it  is  the  favorite  grass.  It 

was  known  in  England  for 
many  centuries  but  its  good 
qualities  were  not  appreciated 
until  it  was  introduced  into 
that  country  from  Virginia  in 
1764  by  the  Society  of  Arts. 
It  is  a  very  hardy  perennial,  a 
vigorous  grower  and  flour- 
ishes as  well  in  the  shade  as 
in  the  sunshine.  Owing  to 
this  habit  of  the  grass  it  takes 
the  name  of  orchard  grass  in 
the  United  States.  In  Eng- 
land it  is  called  cock's-foot. 
It  is  grown  with  success  in 
woodland  pastures,  having 
generous  soils. 

SOILS  —  Orchard  grass 
grows  upon  every  soil  not  sat- 
urated with  water.  Its  pref- 
erence is  an  alluvial  soil,  mod- 


Or chard  Grass — Dactylis  glomerata. 

2.  Inflorescence.    3.  Upper  leaf.    4.  Spike- 
let.    5.  Empty  glumes.     6.  Floret, 
with  stamens  and  pistil. 


erately  dry,  porous  and  with  a 
considerable  amount  of  sandy 
material  in  it.  Stiff,  clayey 


18 

soils,  retentive  of  moisture,  do  not  suit  it  so  well.  Upon  this  class  of  soils 
the  roots  acquire,  such  a  feeble  hold  that  they  are  liable  to  be  thrown  out  by 
winter  freezes.  In  England,  however,  Mr.  Wheeler,  a  writer  on  grasses, 
recommends  it  among  those  grasses  suited  "for  a  poor  stiff  soil  or  a  dry 
subsoil." 

Mr.  Edmund  Murphy,  of  Ireland,  states  that  it  is  most  advanta- 
geously used  in  the  sandy  soils  of  Norfolk. 

It  will  grow  well  upon  a  soil  naturally  sterile,  provided  it  is  top- 
dressed  with  stable  manure.  Upon  freshly  cleared  lands  where  there  is 
a  considerable  amount  of  virgin  mold  it  grows  with  a  surprising  luxu- 
riance, getting  a  good  start  early  in  the  spring  and  growing  successive 
crops  until  fall.  One  of  its  chief  merits  lies  in  the  earliness  and  rapidity 
of  its  growth,  furnishing  a  grateful  bite  to  horses,  sheep  and  cattle  long 
before  any  other  grass.  It  retains  its  verdurous  appearance  during  the 
hot  days  of  August  when  grown  upon  a  rich  deep  loam. 

As  a  hay  grass  it  does  not  rank  high  in  the  estimation 'of  Tennessee 
farmers.  Upon  good  soils  it  attains  a  usual  height  of  three  feet  but  some- 
times reaches  four  and  even  five  feet.  The  stalks  when  grown  on  rich 
soils  are  coarse  and  woody,  unless  the  grass  is  very  thick.  As  a  hay,  un- 
less cut  very  early,  it  is  not  relished  by  stock  to  the  same  extent  as  clover, 
timothy  or  herd's  grass  hay.  Nevertheless  it  makes,  upon  good  soils,  a 
large  quantity  of  medium  quality.  If  cut  before  the  leaves  begin  to  be  em- 
browned or  to  dry  up  and  before  the  seed  begins  to  form  it  is  greatly 
relished,  by  stock,  though  it  is  deficient  in  nutritive  matter. 

The  Woburn  experiments  developed  some  interesting  facts  pertain- 
ing ro  this  grass.  Grown  upon  a  rich,  sandy  loam,  and  cut  the  middle  of 
April  the  green  grass  weighed  10,209  pounds  per  acre,  in  which  there 
were  1,190  pounds  of  nutritious  matter.  Cut,  when  in  full  bloom,  the 
green  produce  weighed  27,905^  pounds.  It  lost  in  dessication 
16,045  pounds,  or  a  little  more  than  half,  and  furnished  1,089  pounds  of 
nutritious  matter.  After  the  seeds  were  fully  ripe,  the  green  produce 
weighed  less  by  1,361  pounds  per  acre,  but  there  were  1,415  more  pounds 
of  dry  bay,  with  an  excess  of  nutritive  extract  of  363  pounds.  The  after- 
math, however,  was  not  so  good,  and  in  the  loss  of  this  the  advantage  of 
an  increased  yield  of  hay  was  counterbalanced. 

Its  best  record  as  reported  by  Sinclair  was  27,905  pounds  of  green 
grass;  11,860^2  pounds  of  hay  and  11,910  of  green  aftermath  per  acre. 
The  following  account  of  the  extraordinary  productiveness  of  this  grass 
is  given  by  Mr.  Falla.  nurseryman  and  seedsman,  of  Newcastle-upon- 
Tyne,  in  the  Quarterly  Journal  of  Agriculture: 

On  the  30th  of  April  he  weighed  the  produce  of.  a  square  yard,  and 
found  it  to  be  16  pounds  or  34^  tons  per  acre;  the  second  crop  of  this 
yard  was  cut  again  on  the  10th  of  June,  and  weighed  8  pounds.  The 
third  crop  was  cut  on  the  10th  of  September  and  weighed  10  pounds — in 
all  equal  to  73  tons  as  the  year's  produce.  He  remarks  that  it  was;  in 
every  case,  weighed  on  a  dry  day. 

HOW  AND  WHEN  TO  SOW— The  land  if  inclined  to  be  tenacious 
or  stiff  in  its  character  should  be  well -broken  in  the  fall,  rebroken  the 
following  March  or  April  and  thoroughly  harrowed  just  before  sowing 


19 

until  the  top  is  as  mellow  as  garden  mold.  If  a  sandy  soil  is  selected  it 
will  not  benefit  it  or  render  it  more  pulverulent  by  plowing  it  in  the  fall. 
When  the  soil  becomes  dry  enough  to  plow  the  land  should  be  prepared 
and  the  seed  should  be  sown  before  a  rain  compacts  the  land. 

Orchard  grass  always  does  best  in  Tennessee  when  sown  early  in  the 
spring.  From  the  15th  of  March  to  the  15th  of  April  is  the  best  time. 
Not  less  than  two. to  three  bushels  of  seed  should  be  sown  to  the  acre. 
As  the  seeds  are  large  a  light  harrow  must  be  dragged  over  the  land  after 
sowing  so  as  to  cover  them  well.  The  greatest  objection  to  this  grass 
is  its  tendency  to  grow  in  stools  or  tussocks  leaving  large  bare  inter- 
spaces. To  correct  this  habit  a  fine  toothed  harrow  should  be  run  over 
the  pasture  every  spring  and  wherever  there  is  a  vacant  place  more  seed 
should  be  sown  and  carefully  covered.  A  roller  run  over  the  pasture 
when  the  land  is  wet  represses  this  tendency  to  form  tussocks.  Mr.  Ed- 
mund Murphy  recommends  the  sowing  of  ten  pounds  of  red  clover  per 
acre  as  a  preventive  of  this  proclivity. 

Orchard  grass  is  a  very  vigorous  grower,  surpassed  in  this  respect 
by  but  few  in  the  whole  catalogue  of  domestic  grasses.  It  is  succulent 
and  nutritious  and  when  mowed  it  requires  only  a  few  days  of  moist 
weather  to  bring  out  its  verdant  blades  in  as  great  beauty  and  vigor  as 
ever.  It  will  bear  more  grazing  than  almost  any  other  grass  because  of 
this  rapid  growth.  Tramping  does  not  seem  to  affect  it  in  any  other  way 
than  by  inducing  a  tussocky  growth.  Two  or  three  crops  of  it  may  be 
cut  in  one  season  when  grown  on  a  deep,  rich  and  moist  soil  but  after 
each  cutting  it  should  be  top-dressed  with  superphosphate  of  lime  or  with 
stable  manure. 

Mr.  W.  D.  Gallagher  gives  the  following  directions  for  sowing  or- 
chard grass:  ''Plow  the  land  deep,  pulverize  the  soil  well,  be  generous  as 
to  the  quantity  of  seed,  let  the  seed  be  good,  sow  it  evenly,  give  the  land 
as  good  treatment  afterwards  as  is  given  to  meadow  lands  in  timothy." 

VIRTUES  OF  ORCHARD  GRASS— Orchard  grass  is  a  long  liver 
and  will  be  victorious  in  a  contest  for  supremacy  in  the  pasture  over 
other  grasses  provided  always  that  its  tendency  to  grow  in  tufts  be  coun- 
teracted. Mr.  L.  F.  Allen,  of  New  York,  a  farmer  and  stock  grower 
of  national  reputation,  testifies  to  the  fact  that  he  has  had  it  growing  in- 
one  field  for  a  period  of  forty  years  with  continuous  mowing  and  pas- 
turing. He  says  that  if  cut  at  the  right  stage  it  is  just  as  good  for  any 
kind  of  animal  as  timothy  hay. 

Mr.  T.  A.  Cole,  of  the  same  state,  says  that  after  twenty  years  of 
experience  he  has  settled  down  upon  orchard  grass  as  possessing  greater 
merits  than  any  other  for  both  pasture  and  meadow,  for  fattening  animals 
or  for  dairy  stock.  Of  its  value  for  dairy  purposes  he  says:  "When  cut 
for  hay  just  before  it  blooms  and  cured  with  as  little  sun  as  possible  it 
will  make  more  milk  than  any  other  variety  known  to  me;  if  left  to  ripen, 
it  is  worthless." 

When  grown  for  hay  therefore  it  may  be  cut  and  cured  before  clover,, 
timothy  or  herd's  grass  is  ready  for  the  mower  and  in  this  there  is  a 
great  advantage.  The  yield  of  hay  on  fertile  land  is  two  tons  to  the  acre. 

As  to  its  capacity  for  furnishing  grazing  Col.  Bowman,  writing  from 


20 

the  blue  grass  region  of  Kentucky,  says:  "Owing  to  its  capacity  to  resist 
drought  and  in  consequence  of  its  rapid  growth  it  will  yield  more  pastur- 
age than  the  best  blue  grass  sod." 

Its  superiority  to  timothy  lies  in  the  great  value  of  its  aftermath.  It 
will  improve  under  depasturing  when  a  timothy  meadow  subjected  to  the 
same  treatment  would  be  destroyed.  It  also  makes  an  excellent  winter 
pasture.  Prof.  Phares,  of  Mississippi,  an  expert  writer  on  grasses,  says 
he  prefers  orchard  grass  to  any  other  grass. 

Mr.  Howard  in  his  manual  on  grasses  thinks  it  stands  in  importance, 
for  the  climate  of  Georgia,  second  only  to  meadow-oat  grass  for  hay  and 
winter  pastures.  Where  hay  is  the  object  he  recommends  that  meadow- 
oat  grass  and  orchard  grass  be  sown  with  red  clover  and  white,  as  each 
of  the  four  blossoms  at  the  same  time.  The  cultivation  of  orchard  grass 
and  meadow-oat  grass  he  thinks  cannot  be  too  strongly  recommended 
for  the  south. 

Hon.  N.  B.  Dudley,  of  Logan  county,  Kentucky,  a  most  successful 
stock-grower,  has  this  to  say  of  orchard  grass: 

"Orchard  grass  with  a  good  stand  on  medium  to  good  land  will  fur- 
nish more  grazing  than  any  other  of  the  grasses  in  common  use.  It 
starts  on  its  spring  growth  sooner,  is  less  affected  by  a  summer's  drought 
and  grows  later  in  the  fall  than  any  other  grass.  It  is  the  best  yard  grass 
for  farmers  who  love  large  yards  and  many  shade  trees.  But  to  get  the 
most  benefit  from  it,  it  should  be  grazed  hard  enough  to  keep  the  blades 
short  and  tender.  If  they  are  permitted  to  grow  long  they  become  tough 
and  rough  to  the  mouths  of  stock. 

It  is  not  a  sod  grass  like  blue,  herd's  and  Bermuda  grass.  It  is  more 
like  timothy,  growing  its  tillers  from  the  parent  plant,  each  tiller  having  a 
bulbous  quality  at  its  base  and  it.  should  never  be  grazed  hard  enough  for 
these  bulbs  to  be  eaten  by  stock  for  that  would  soon  destroy  the  stools 
from  which  they  grow. 

Orchard  grass  does  very  little  towards  reseeding  or  thickening  itself 
on  the  ground.  The  stools  seem  to  love  to  have  a  little  neutral  territory 
around  themselves.  Good  farmers  usually  sow  blue  and  herd's  grass  to 
fill  these  spaces  and  some  sow  timothy  also  because  it  gives  a  mowing  the 
next  summer.  Stock  should  be  kept  off  of  orchard  and  blue  grass  for 
two  winters  after  seeding. 

It  is  the  nature  of  orchard  grass  to  grow  blade  in  the  fall  and  seed 
stock  in  the  spring.  It  should  therefore  have  a  good  holiday  in  the  fall. 
Orchard  grass  is  not  one  of  the  best  hay  grasses.  The  seed  stalk  will  get 
hard  whether  it  is  cut  early  or  late  but  a  very  fine  hay  can  be  had  by 
sowing  with  it  the  common  or  medium  red  clover.  They  are  ready  for 
the  mower  at  the  same  time.  I  have  seen  its  blades  four  feet  long  and  the 
stand  of  grass  seriously  injured  because  it  was  neither  mowed  nor  grazed. 
I  love  orchard  grass  because  it  will  grow  well  on  land  where  blue  grass 
would  be  too  dwarfish  for  profit." 

SAVING  SEED— When  seed  is  the  object  the  grass  should  be  cut 
with  a  self-binding  reaper  and  tied  up  in  bundles  -as  wheat  or  oats.  The 
bundles  are  put  up  in  shocks  without  being  capped.  They  should  remain 
in  this  condition  until  dry  enough  to  thresh,  which  will  be  in  three  or  four 


21 

weeks.  They  should  be  threshed  from  the  wagon  and  some  care  must  be 
exercised  in  hauling  the  bundles  to  the  thresher,  otherwise  many  of  the 
seed  will  be  lost  by  shattering.  The  yield  upon  rich  soils  is  fifteen 
bushels  to  the  acre.  It  is  put  up  in  eight  bushel  sacks  and  the  weight  is 
14  pounds  to  the  bushel. 

Lawes  and  Gilbert,  by  selecting  the  best  seed  and  sowing  for  several 
years  none  but  the  best  for  several  generations,  established  a  new  variety 
which  they  called  giant  cock's-foot.  The  seed  of  this  weighs  only  10 
pounds  to  the  bushel,  and  there  are  only  34,000  seed  to  the  ounce  in  place 
of  40.000  of  the  ordinary  orchard  grass.  This  so-called  giant  orchard 
grass  is  not  in  any  respect  superior  to  the  common  variety. 

It  may,  with  confidence  be  said  of  orchard  grass  that  it  will  suit  the 
ordinary  Tennessee  farmer  better  than  any  other  grass  for  all  purposes 
except  herd's  grass,  and  it  may  with  safety  be  recommended.  It  soon 
arrives  at  maturity.  It  thrives  upon  almost  every  soil  and  in  every  variety 
of  situation.  It  produces  an  immense  amount  of  herbage  and  hay.  It 
grows  very  rapidly  and  is  a  favorite  with  all  kinds  of  cattle,  especially 
when  grown  in  the  sunshine.  It  is  found  in  the  best  English  and  Ameri- 
can pastures.  It  does  not  impoverish  the  soil  and  is  not  hard  to  destroy 
when  the  land  is  wanted  for  other  crops. 

Summing  up  the  merits  of  this  grass  it  may  be  said: 

1.  It  is  better  suited  to  every  variety  of  soil  than  any  other  except 
herd's  grass.     The  writer  has  seen  it  growing  with  vigor  on  mountain 
heights  and  in  valley  plains,  on  sandy  loams  and  calcareous  soils;  on  the 
coarse  sandstone  soils  of  the  Cumberland  Mountain,  and  on  the  tertiary 
loess  and  alluvium  of  West  Tennessee,  as  well  as  upon  the  cretaceous 
sands  of  that  division.     He  has  grown  it  with  success  upon  the  siliceous 
soils  of  the  rimlands,  and  has  seen  it  enliven  the  landscape  of  the  Cen- 
tral Basin  with  its  mantle  of  verdure.     It  is  best  adapted  to  the  sandy 
loams  of  West  Tennessee  and  to  the  lands  of  the  Central  Basin  having  a 
porous  subsoil.     On  lands  having  a  tenacious  clay  foundation,  the  roots 
are  checked  in  their  descent,  and  the  growth  is  not  so  luxuriant;  nor  is 
the  duration  of  the  pasture  so  great. 

2.  It  will  grow  with  greater  rapidity  than  any  other  grass  and  for 
this  reason  will  sustain  a  larger  number  of  stock.     It  is  excellent  for  soil- 
ing purposes. 

3.  It  will  grow  in  the  shade.     This  quality  will  enable  the  farmers  to 
utilize  their  woodlands  as  pasture,  and  so  make  them  a  source  of  profit. 

4.  It  will  resist  drought  better  than  almost  any  other  grass.     The  hot 
summers  make  this  a  very  valuable  quality  in  any  grass.     Often  in  July 
and  August  the  pastures  become  so  parched  as  to  afford    but    a    small 
amount  of  grazing.  Orchard  grass  then  comes  to  the  rescue  and  supplies 
the  deficiency. 

5.  It  is  both  a  pasture  and  a  hay  grass.     After  a  crop  of  hay  has  been 
taken  off  in  May  or  June,  the  aftermath  will  furnish    a    good    pasture 
throughout  the  remainder  of  the  summer.     A  prominent  sheep  raiser-  of 
Tennessee  who  has  been  carrying  a  thousand  sheep  or  more,  says  that 
during  the  summer  it  will  carry  double  as  many  sheep  as  blue  grass,  acre 
for  acre;  but  that  blue  grass  will  furnish  more  and  better  winter  grazing. 


22 


6.  It  may  be  sown  in  the  spring  or  fall  with  small  grain  or  alone.  It 
is  best  not  to  sow  it  with  grain,  as  the  extra  production  of  grass,  when 
sown  alone,  is  worth  more  than  the  grain  and  grass  grown  together.  It 
may  be  mown  as  hay  or  cut  with  reapers  or  cradles,  and  bound  in  sheaves 
like  oats. 

MEADOW      FOXTAIL— "MOUNTAIN     TIMOTHY."— (Alopecurus 

pratensis.} — (Meadow  and  Pasture.) 

This  grass  is  one  of  the  earliest  in  making  its  appearance  in  the 
spring.  Its  tall  culms  and  club-like  panicles  are  charming  in  their  robes 
of  golden  anthers.  They  are  so  much  earlier  than  the  panicles  of  other 
grasses  that  they  readily  attract  attention.  In  England  this  grass  is  in 
almost  every  pasture,  and  in  many  pastures  famous  for  their  richness  and 
luxuriance  it  is  the  principal  grass.  It  blossoms  in  Tennessee  in  March 
and  early  April. 

SOILS  SUITED  FOR  ITS  GROWTH— It  grows  best  on  rich, 
moist,  strong  soils.  A  calcareous  loam  with  a  loose  gravelly  subsoil  is 

well  suited  for  it  also,  but  it 
will  thrive  upon  all  soils  ex- 
cept the  dryest  sands.  It  may 
be  grown  with  success  in 
every  part  of  the  state,  even 
upon  the  Cumberland  table- 
land, wherever  the  underlying 
subsoil  is  clayey  and  retentive 
of  moisture. 

Prof.  Beal  says  "it  is 
quite  common  at  elevations  of 
from  five  to  seven  thousand 
feet  above  the  sea,  growing  in 
rich  soils  along  mountain 
streams  and  frequenting  the 
so-called  mountain  meadows.'' 
"For  the  more  elevated 
meadows  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  region  and  for 
northern  latitudes  there  is  no 
grass  that  so  highly  com- 
mends itself  as  this  for  hay 
and  summer  grazing." 
This  grass  would  do  best  in  Tennessee  in  the  moist  and  cool  climate 
of  the  Unaka  mountains.  The  rich  soils  of  the  sheltered  valleys  and 
coves  of  that  region,  and  also  that  upon  the  "Balds,"  are  probably  better 
suited  for  its  growth  than  any  other  soils  and  situations  in  the  State.  In 
England  it  is  a  great  favorite  in  the  sheep  breeding  districts.  It  very 
much  resembles  timothy  in  general  appearance,  but  while  the  head  of 
timothy  is  rough  and  harsh  to  the  touch  that  of  the  meadow  foxtail  is  soft 
and  velvety,  but  broader  and  shorter.  The  hay,  however,  is  much  lighter 
than  that  of  timothy,  while  the  bulk  may  be  greater.  Its  chief  value  in 


Meadow  Foxtail — Alopecurus  pratensis. 
2.  Inflorescence.     3.  Upper  leaf.     4.  Spikelet. 
5.  The   awned   flowering   glume,    the 
stamens  and  stigmas  project- 
ing from  the  apex. 


23 

Tennessee  is  for  pasturage,  because  of  its  earliness  and  the  rapidity  of  its 
growth,  resembling  in  these  particulars  orchard  grass.  It  excels  timothy 
for  pastures  as  much  as  timothy  excels  it  for  hay.  Like  most  grasses  its 
greatest  nutritive  value  is  attained  when  in  full  bloom.  When  cut  at  that 
period  it  loses  over  70  per  cent,  in  drying  and  contains  when  green  4.32 
per  cent,  of  albuminoids  as  against  3.79  per  cent,  for  timothy  cut  at  the 
same  stage. 

One  great  drawback  to  the  introduction  of  this  grass  is  the  length  of 
time  (three  to  four  years)  it  requires  to  be  firmly  established,  but  it  is 
well  adapted  to  permanent  pastures  and  many  mountain  districts  in  the 
state  could  be  greatly  benefited  by  its  introduction.  It  is  a  long  liver,  a 
quick  grower,  and  furnishes  a  very  nutritious  and  palatable  herbage.  It 
requires  about  three  bushels  of  seed  to  the  acre  to  insure  a  good  stand 
but  it  is  best  to  sow  it  with  other  grasses.  The  land  may  be  prepared 
and  the  seed  sown  in  the  fall.  In  the  moist  climate  of  the  Unaka  moun- 
tains it  may  be  sown  either  in  the  spring  or  fall.  The  plant  at  first  is 
very  feeble  and  should  only  form  one  of  the  grasses  in  a  pasture.  After 
two  or  three  years  it  makes  the  principal  grass. 

Mr.  Taunton,  of  England,  thus  speaks  of  its  durability  and  good 
qualities: 

"In  the  dry  soil,  in  the  course  of  seven  or  eight  years,  it  became 
much  weakened;  but  in  a  meadow  on  the  clay  with  a  dark  moory  mould 
on  the  surface,  it  maintained  its  size,  frequently  as  well  or  better  than  any 
other  grass;  and  where  I  had  sown  it  on  deep  loamy  sand  where  springs 
rise,  there  its  produce  was  extremely  luxuriant,  insomuch,  that  I,  this 
year,  sold  the  crop  standing  at  the  rate -of  8  pounds  sterling  ($40)  per 
acre.  No  manure  had  ever  been  given  to  this,  land  since  the  grass  seeds 
were  sown  seven  years  ago,  other  than  the  irregular  irrigation  produced 
by  the  winter  springs;  yet  it  most  completely  covered  the  ground.  One 
character  particularly  attracted  my  attention;  namely,  that  although  it 
stood  late  in  the  summer — not  having  been  cut  until  late  in  July,  and  after 
the  seed  had  fully  ripened — none  of  the  lower  leaves  had  decayed  or  with- 
ered, whereas  those  of  the  cock's-foot  and  fescue  and  some  others  were 
quite  dead.  This  experiment  proves  to  what  a  valuable  purpose  any  tract 
of  springy,  moist,  loamy  sand  may  be  converted  by  sowing  it  down  with 
a  selection  of  grasses,  in  which  the  foxtail  should  predominate. 

This  grass  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  foxtail  (setaria  viridis} 
that  springs  up  in  the  fields  of  Tennessee  after  oat  and  wheat  harvest. 
This  foxtail  is  nothing  but  a  troublesome  weed. 

TALL  MEADOW  FESCUE— RANDALL    GRASS— EVERGREEN 
GRASS—  (Festucaelatior\a.r.  pratensis.}—(Mzz&ow  and  Pasture.) 

This  is  a  most  valuable  grass  and  well  suited  to  many  of  the.  soils  of 
Tennessee.  It  is  a  perennial  and  flourishes  best  on  moist  lands  rich  in 
humus.  It  is  good  for  permanent  pastures  or  meadow,  producing  when 
cut  in  flower  a  large  amount  of  excellent  hay  which  Mr.  Sinclair  values 
next  to  the  meadow  foxtail.  As  a  hay  grass  it  is  superior  to  the  meadow 
foxtail.  It  is  common  throughout  Great  Britain,  Lapland,  Norway,  Swe- 


24 


Fall  Meadow  Fescue, — Festuca  elatior. 

2.  Panicle.     3.  Upper  leaf.     4.  Spikelet. 

5.  M'mpty  glumes.   6.  Flowering  glume. 


den,  Germany,  France  and  as  far  South  as  Italy.     It  grows  all  over  the 

United  States.  It  was  first 
domesticated  in  1820.  It  is 
inclined  to  grow  in  tufts  or 
bunches'  like  orchard  grass. 
The  roots  are  stout  and  the 
leaves  are  from  one  to  two 
feet  long.  This  grass  often 
grows  to  the  height  of  five 
feet  in  suitable  situations  and 
soils  and  makes  excellent  win- 
ter pastures  from  Virginia  and 
Kentucky  southward.  It 
grows  vigorously  on  the 
mountain  lands  of  upper  East 
Tennessee  and  is '  highly 
prized  for  its  good  grazing 
qualities  during  the  spring, 
summer  and  fall  months,  even 
extending  far  into  winter,  not- 
withstanding the  rigor  of  the 
weather  upon  these  chilly 
heights.  It  has  taken  various 
names;  in  Virginia  it  is  "Randall  grass;"  in  North  Carolina  "evergreen 
grass."  In  the  mountain  lands  of  Virginia,  a  writer  says:  "The  variety 
of  forage  best  adapted  to  sheep-grazing  on  the  mountain  lands  is  the 
'Randall.'  a  tall,  coarse  grass,  growing  freely  on  the  rocky  soil  to  a 
height  of  six  feet,  remaining  green  and  affording  fine  herbage  all  the 
winter." 

From  the  limited  cultivation  this  grass  has  received  in  Tennessee  it 
seems  to  be  adapted  rather  to  moist  low  lands  than  to  uplands,  though 
I  have  seen  it  growing  on  some  of  the  high  ridges  of  East  Tennessee,  at 
least  1,500  feet  above  the  sea.  There,  on  good  soils,  it  thrives  luxuriantly, 
and  makes  a  very  superior  pasture.  Some  of  this  grass  was  sown  in 
Davidson  county  as  early  as  1850  upon  the  farm  once  owned  by  Col.  D. 
H.  McGavock.  The  place  selected  for  sowing  was  low,  wet  and  almost 
marshy.  The  same  spot  is  yet  green  with  it,  still  flourishing  in  the  great- 
est vigor,  furnishing  more  grazing  according  to  Col.  McGavock,  than  any 
other  grass.  The  roots  penetrate  much  deeper  than  the  roots  of  blue- 
grass,  descending  indeed,  as  deep  as  red  clover.  In  consequence  of  this 
it  bears  droughts  remarkably  well.  Nor  do  overflows  affect  it,  but  seem 
rather  to  add  to  its  vigorous  vitality. 

A  small  plat  of  upland  was  also  sov/n,  but  it  disappeared  in  about  five 
years.  Its  disappearance,  however,  was  hastened  by  the  presence  of  the 
army  worm. 

In  Europe  this  grass  is  one  of  the  standard  meadow  grasses  and 
might  be  found  by  further  experiment  to  form  a  fine  addition  to  the  list 
here.  Its  name  of  evergreen  originated  from  its  habit  of  remaining  green 


25 

under  the  snow,  affording  fine  croppings  for  cattle.  It  will  grow  on  a 
greater  elevation  than  the  blue  grass. 

Meadow  fescue  grass  does  not  attain  its  full  productive  capacity  until 
the  third  or  fourth  year,  so  that  while  its  durability  in  the  soil  is  great  it 
may  not  be  depended  upon  for  a  quick  meadow  or  pasture.  It  will  yield 
the  first  year. from  one  to  one  and  a  half  tons  of  hay  when  sown  upon  con- 
genial soil,  and  twice  that  amount  the  second  year.  The  seed  weighs 
from  12  to  16  pounds  to  the  bushel  and  three  bushels  are  required  to  the 
acre.  Prepare  the  land  and  sow  at  the  same  time  of  the  year  and  in  the 
same  manner  pointed  out  for  the  sowing  of  blue  grass.  In  sowing  it  for 
pasture  it  is  usual  to  mix  it  with  other  fescue  grasses. 

This  grass  has  never  received  the  attention  in  the  south  it  justly 
merits.  It  is  greatly  relished  by  all  herbivorous  animals.  It  is  a  vigor- 
ous grower,  resembling  in  this  particular,  after  being  well  established, 


Sheep  Fescue — Festuca  ovina. 

2.  Inflorescence.    3.  Spikelet.    4.  Empty 

glume.     5.  Flowering  glume. 


Tennessee  Fescue — Festuca  rubra  glaucescens. 

2.  Inflorescence.    3.  Upper  leaf.     4.  Spikelet. 

5.  Empty  glume.    6.  Flowering  glume. 


blue  grass,  though  it  takes  two  or  three  years  to  reach  the  condition  of 
its  greatest  fruitfuiness.  It  is  fairly  nutritious  both  in  its  green  and  cured 
state. 

SHEEP  FESCUE—  (Festuca  ovina.}— (Pastures.) 
This  is  a  very  hardy  perennial  and  deserves  mention  in  this  bulletin 
because  it  will  grow  on  thin,  dry,  siliceous  soils  and  thus  fills  a  want  in 
those  regions  of  Tennessee  that  are  destitute  of  good  grass  lands  and  are 
now  practically  without  grasses.  On  the  sandy  soils  of  the  Cumberland 
table-land  and  on  the  siliceous  soils  of  the  Highland  Rim  and  on  the 
sandy  areas  of  the  cretaceous  formation  of  West  Tennessee  this  grass 
would  prove  a  boon.  The  gravelly  ridges  of  East  Tennessee  could  also 


26 


be  made  good  sheep  walks  if  set  with  it.  Sheep  are  very  fond  of  it  and 
hence  its  name. 

Its  panicles  are  narrow;  its  leaves  are  short,  bristle-like  and  tufted 
and  have  a  grayish  color  tinged  with  red.  It  forms  a  profuse  foliage  in 
bunches  and  makes  excellent  pastures  for  sheep  and  cattle  where  other 
grasses  will  not  grow. 

This  grass  constitutes  the  great  bulk  of  the  grazing  grasses  in  the 
sheep  pastures  of  the  Highlands  of  Scotland.  It  is  believed  by  the  shep- 
herds in  that  region  to  be  more  nutritious  for  sheep  than  any  other.  In 
the  arid  plains  of  Asia  it  is  often  the  only  grass  upon  which  the  wandering 
tribes  can  subsist  their  cattle  and  sheep. 

Linnaeus  asserts  that  sheep  have  no  fondness  for  hills  without  it. 
Where  all  other  vegetation  parches  up  it  will  grow.  Its  short  and  dense 
turf  when  sown  thick  makes  it  well  suited  for  lawns.  The  aftermath  in  a 
lawn  cannot  be  surpassed. 

Many  varieties  of  this  grass  are  found  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  dis- 
tricts. Some  of  these  grow  to  the  height  of  two  or  three  feet.  The  usual 


Rats 's-tail  Fescue — Festuca  myurus. 

2.  Inflorescence.  3.  Upper  leaf.   J.Spikelet. 

5.  Empty  glumes,    tj.  Flowering  glume. 


Small  Fescue — Festuca  tenella. 

1.  Panicle.    2.  Spikelet.    3.  Empty 

glumes.    4.  Flowering  glume. 


height  of  this  grass  on  thin  soils  rarely  exceeds  eight  inches.  The  weight 
of  a  bushel  of  seed  is  14  pounds.  Two  or  three  bushels  to  the  acre  is  not 
too  much  to  secure  a  sufficient  density  of  turf  for  lawns  or  pastures.  The 
seed  sells  for  about  $2.00  per  bushel. 


OTHER  FESCUE  GRASSES. 

Tennessee  fescue,  Festuca  rubra  glaucescens,  is  a  perennial  and  is 
strongly  recommended  for  worn  out  soils  and  hill-sides.  It  has  a  creep- 
ing habit  and  makes  a  good  turf,  close  and  fine  leaved,  remaining  green 


27 

throughout  the  year.  It  is  not  easily  affected  by  either  drought  or  cold. 
It  will  grow  well  on  dry  sandy  soils  and  may  be  a  valuable  acquisition  for 
the  Cumberland  mountains. 

Festuca  myurus  (rat's-tail-fescue)  and  tenella  (small  fescue)  are  both 
annual  grasses  which  grow  on  dry  sandy  soils  six  inches  to  a  foot  in 
height,  and,  as  they  appear  early  in  the  spring,  they  make  a  good  sheep 
pasture. 

Festuca  duriuscula,  hard  fescue,  is  a  variation  of  the  sheep  fescue  and 
will  thrive  on  poor  sandy  soils.  It  is  of  but  little  value  where  the  soil 
is  fertile  enough  to  produce  better  grasses.  But  for  its  hardy  nature  and 
its  adaptability  to  unfavorable  situations  it  would  not  be  mentioned. 

Differences  in  soil  and  situation  cause  these  species  to  run  into  sev- 
eral varieties  and  the  narrow  leaved  species  seem  to  lose  their  individu- 
ality when  grown  on  like  soils  and  under  similar  conditions.  Prof. 
Buckman  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  College  at  Cirencester  sowed  in  ex 
perimental  plots  the  seeds  of  Festuca  ovina,  Festuca  ruba  and  Festuca 
duriuscula  and  for  two  years  the  specific  differences  were  well  marked  but 
in  the  third  year  these  differences  vanished  and  the  appearance  of  all  three 
was  practically  the  same.  The  creeping  habit  of  the  Festuca  rubra  was 
totally  lost.  On  poor  upland  regions,  according  to  Mr.  Gould,  these 
fescues  assume  the  appearance  of  the  Festuca  ovina;  on  good  uplands  the 
appearance  of  Festuca  duriuscula  and  in  river  valley  lands  of  Festuca 
rubra. 

PERENNIAL  RYE  GRASS— RAY  GRASS— (Lolium  perenne}— 
(Meadow  and  Pasture). 

This  grass  has  been  in  cultivation  in  England  and  Scotland  since 
1667  and  in  France  for  even  a  longer  period.  It  is  regarded  in  England 
very  much  as  timothy  is  in  the  United  States,  though  it  is  difficult  to  see 
the  reason  why.  It  is  a  short  perennial,  lasting  usually  from  three  to 
seven  years  and  in  consequence  of  the  shortness  of  its  life  it  is  not  highly 
esteemed  for  pasture.  It  is  a  good  grass,  however,  for  alternate  hus- 
bandry. 

SOILS — Like  nearly  all  stoloniferous  grasses  it  prefers  a  moist  soil 
and  is  especially  suited  to  a  low-lying  clayey  soil.  The  roots  put  out 
several  stems,  which  grow  prostrate  at  the  base.  Upright  stems  ascend 
from  each  joint  of  the  prostrate  stem,  attaining  a  height  of  from  two  to 
three  feet.  The  stem  is  stiff;  the  spike  is  flattened  and  it  is  not  an  at- 
tractive grass  in  appearance,  but  it  has  a  full  green  tint  except  at  the 
joints  of  the  stem,  where  it  sometimes  takes  on  a  brownish  hue.  It  has  a 
vigorous  habit,  starting  early  in  the  season  and  flowering  early.  It  re- 
quires one  to  two  bushels  of  seed  to  sow  an  acre.  It  may  be  sown  either 
in  the  fall  or  spring  when  the  land  is  in  good  condition.  The  preparation 
of  the  land  is  the  same  as  that  for  orchard  grass. 

Prof.  Beal  does  not  think  it  well  adapted  to  a  southern  climate  as  it 
cannot  bear  great  heat.  It  must  have  a  cool  climate  and  a  moist  soil. 
These  conditions  of  growth  are  found  among  the  high  mountains  of  East 
Tennessee  and  I  have  no  doubt  it  would  grow  with  great  luxuriance  in 


28 


the  moist  soils  of  the  elevated  valleys  and  coves  found  among  the  Unaka 
mountains. 

On  fertile  soils  it  will  yield  about  40  bushels  of  seed  to  the  acre  and 
the  seed  weighs  25  to  30  pounds  per  bushel.  It  cannot  be  called  an  eco- 
nomical grass  for  pastures  or  meadows.  Its  shortness  of  life  makes  the 
sowing  of  it  for  permanent  pastures  or  meadows  very  bad  husbandry. 
The  sowing  of  it  is  only  a  little  more  economical  than  the  sowing  of  an 
annual.  And  yet  for  a  three  years  rotation  it  will  be  found  very  useful. 

Mr.  Edmund  Murphy,  a  close  observer  of  the  habits  of  this  grass 
says:  "In  laying  down  some  hundred  of  acres  with  this  grass  alone  or  in 
mixture  with  others  my  experience  fully  bears  out  the  justice  of  the 
charge  of  bad  husbandry  in  sowing  it  for  permanent  meadows  or  pastures. 
Nor  is  the  want  of  durability  its  only  bad  property.  It  is  perhaps  the 
most  exhausting  of  all  the  grasses  on  land,  nearly  as  much  so  indeed, 


Perennial  Rye  Grass — Loliuni  perenne. 
2.   Inflorescence — a  spike.     3.    Upper  leaf. 
4.  Spikelet,  with   a    portion   of   the   rhachis. 
*    o.  Empty  glumes  of   the  terminal   spikelet. 
6.  Floral  glume.     7.  Palea.     8.  Caryopsis. 

when  permitted  to  form  its  seed,  as  a  crop  of  corn  (wheat).  In  dry  soil 
or  in  almost  any  kind  of  soil,  should  dry  weather  set  in  after  it  has  been 
cut,  an  almost  total  failure  of  the  aftergrass  will  be  the  result.  Its  great- 
est value  appears  to  be  for  sowing  with  clover,  on  land  intended  to  remain 
only  two  or  three  years  in  grass;  with  this  view,  and  when  sown  at  the 
rate  of  one  bushel  per  acre,  with  20  pounds  of  red  clover;  or  two  bushels 
of  rye  grass,  and  14  pounds  of  red  clover  on  deep  rich  ground,  enormous 
crops  are  produced.  When  the  intention  is  to  .leave  the  land  only  one 
year  in  grass,  the  Italian  rye  grass  is  greatly  to  be  preferred." 

According  to  the  Woburn  experiments  it  is  very  low  in  its  nutritive 
elements.     It  ranks  low  as  to  the  quantity  and  quality  of  its  produce  and 


in  its  aftermath  it  is  the  very  lowest  in  the  scale  of  cultivated  grasses. 
Compared  with  orchard  grass  its  nutritive  power  is  as  five  to  eighteen;  to 
meadow  foxtail,  five  to  twelve;  to  meadow  fescue,  five  to  seventeen. 
Nevertheless  it  is  a  useful  grass  in  a  mixture  and  will  furnish  the  earliest 
of  grazing.  It  possibly  may  be  recommended  for  culture  in  Tennessee 
only  on  the  soils  of  the  Unaka  mountains  and  on  the  moist  low  clayey 
lands  adjoining  the  lake  districts  of  West  Tennessee. 

ITALIAN  RYE  GRASS— (Lolium  Italicum,)— (Soiling  and  Hay). 
This  is  a  sub-perennial  grass  and  is  esteemed  among  the  very  best  of 
the  short-lived  grasses.  Its  period  of  duration  is  two  to  three  years.  It 
gives  more  abundant  crops  of  a  better  quality  than  perennial  rye  grass. 
It  is  characterized  by  Flint  as  being  the  "greatest  glutton  of  all  the 
grasses;"  will  endure  any  amount  of  forcing  by  irrigation,  by  timely  rains, 
and  by  manuring.  It  will  withstand  a  drought  remarkably  well,  notwith- 


Italian  Rye  Grass — Lolium  Italicum. 

2.  Spike.  3.  Upper  leaf.  4.  Lateral  spikelet, 
with  a  portion  of  the  rhachis.  5.  Empty  glumes 
of  the  terminal  spikelet.  t>.  Floral  glume. 

standing  its  capacity  for  absorbing  moisture  from  the  earth.  It  has 
within  the  past  fifty  years  been  introduced  into  America  from  Europe 
where  it  is  claimed  to  be  more  universally  adapted  to  all  kinds  of  climates 
than  any  other  domesticated  grass. 

SOILS — Italian  rye-grass  reaches  its  highest  perfection  on  moist, 
rich,  alluvial  lands  and  calcareous  loams  where  the  soil  is  in  good  tilth. 
It  is  not  recommended  for  permanent  pasture  or  meadow  but  owing  to  its 
rapidity  of  development  it  is  of  the  greatest  value  when  an  early  crop  of 
forage  is  desired.  With  proper  manuring  it  is  said  that  it  may  be  cut 
within  three  to  four  weeks  after  seeding.  A  succession  of  crops  may  be 


30 

cut  every  four  or  five  weeks  during  the  season.  This  quickness  of  growth 
makes  it  stand  in  the  first  rank  as  a  soiling  grass.  For  dairymen  living 
near  a  city  it  is  of  especial  value  as  the  green  food  produces  a  rich  flow 
of  milk  at  a  very  small  cost.  One  and  a  half  to  two  bushels  of  seed, 
weighing  20  pounds  to  the  bushel,  is  about  the  proper  quantity  to  sow  on 
an  acre  of  land.  Prepare  the  land  and  sow  in  the  same  manner  as  or- 
chard grass.  Tt  is,  however,  better  when  sown  in  the  fall,  about  the  first 
of  October.  It  may  be  considered  a  very  valuable  grass  for  Tennessee 
and  indeed  for  the  south  generally.  It  has  been  fully  tested  in  Georgia 
and  in  Tennessee,  and  it  has  in  every  instance  given  satisfactory  results. 

It  gives  a  fine  color  to  the  butter  of  the  milch  cows  fed  on  it,  and 
they  eat  it  with  great  relish.  It  withstands  the  hottest  suns  of  summer  as 
well  as  the  frosts  of  the  severest  winter.  It  must  be  sown  alone,  as  it 
will  quickly  choke  and  destroy  clover  or  other  grasses.  Its  yield  per 
acre,  according  to  received  authority,  is  something  immense.  Mr.  Dick- 
ens, of  England,  sowed  it  on  a  stiff,  clay  soil,  well-manured,  cut  it  ten 
times  during  one  year;  the  first  time,  ten  inches,  in  March;  April  13th, 
again,  and  May  4th,  a  third  time;  May  25th,  a  fourth  time;  June  14th, 
again;  July  22nd,  a  sixth  time,  with  ripe  seed  and  three  loads  of  hay  to  the 
acre.  Immediately  after  each  cutting  it  was  manured  with  liquid  manure, 
the  produce  of  each  crop  increasing  with  the  temperature  of  the  atmos- 
phere, from  three-quarters  of  a  load,  the  first  cutting,  to  three  loads  the 
last.  He  discontinued  manuring  now,  thinking  its  growth  would  be  ter- 
minated in  bearing  seed,  but  he  afterwards  cut  four  crops  from  it.  On 
the  26th  of  January  following,  it  measured  sixteen  inches  in  height.  The 
last  cutting  was  October  30th,  and  on  the  8th  of  April  a  crop  twenty-two 
inches  high  was  cut  from  it.  "I  was  desirous  to  know  the  exact  amount 
taken  per  acre  for  the  year,  and  it  amounted,  on  a  careful  measuring  and 
'weighing  of  green  hay,  thirteen  tons  and  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty- 
seven  pounds  per  acre."  (Coleman's  European  Agriculture.) 

It  presents  a  most  charming  view,  with  its  broad,  dark  green  foliage, 
and  especially  in  a  dry  year,  when  vegetation  is  parched  up  all  around,  it 
does  not  show  any  signs  of  losing  its  fresh,  living,  luxuriant  growth. 
Although  of  short  life,  a  meadow  of  this  grass  may  be  made  perennial  by 
scattering  fresh  seed  over  the  ground  every  second  year  and  scratching 
it  with  a  harrow  having  sharp  teeth.  Its  unusual  ability  to  withstand  the 
vicissitudes  of  heat  and  cold  makes  it  a  desirable  grass  for  any  thirsty 
soil,  as  well  as  for  moist  soils.  It  might  possibly  be  a  valuable  addition 
to  the  soils  of  the  western  portions  of  our  state.  At  least  it  is  worthy 
of  a  trial. 

Mr.  Gould  thinks  the  valuable  qualities  of  this  grass  may  be  summed 
up  as  follows:  "Its  habit  of  coming  early  to  maturity.  Its  rapid  repro- 
duction after  cutting.  Its  wonderful  adaptation  to  all  domestic  animals, 
which  is  shown  by  the  extreme  partiality  they  manifest  for  it,  either  alone 
or  when  mixed  with  other  grasses;  whether  when  used  as  green  food  for 
soiling,  as  hay,  or  as  pasturage,  in  which  latter  state  its  stems  are  never 
allowed  to  ripen  and  wither  like  other  grasses.  Its  beneficial  influence  on 
the  dairy,  not  only  augmenting  the  flow  of  milk,  but  improving  the  flavor 
of  the  cheese  and  butter,  Its  uncommon  hardiness  and  capacity  to  with- 
stand for  vicissitudes  of  both  wetness  and  dryness." 


31 

PEARL  OR  CAT  TAIL  MILLET—  (Pennisetum  typhoideum)— (Annual 

Hay  Grass.) 

This  is  a  hardy  annual  and  may  be  cut  two  or  three  times  during  the 
season.  It  grows  usually  to  the  height  of  six  or  eight  feet.  It  has  dense 
heads,  six  to  twelve  inches  long  and  a  half  inch  or  more  in  thickness.  The 
stalks  are  coarse  and  hard  to  cure.  When  cut  before  the  stalks  harden 
and  the  seeds  ripen  it  makes  a  vast  quantity  of  forage  that  is  readily  eaten 
by  all  herbivorous  animals.  It  requires  plenty  of  heat  and  a  rich  soil  to 
bring  it  to  maturity.  The  experiment  made  with  it  on  the  Centennial 
grounds  in  Nashville  in  1897  proves  that  it  is  a  vigorous  grower,  a  gross 
feeder  and  a  princely  looking  grass,  towering  high  above  all  other 
grasses  except  sorghum  and  teosinte.  The  head  resembles  a  mammoth 
head  of  timothy. 

The  hay  is  cured  with  difficulty,  owing  to  its  rankness  and  coarseness. 
It  requires  a  great  deal  of  exposure  to  the  sun  or  air  before  it  can  be 
stored  away  with  safety.  It  can  be  recommended  as  a  forage  plant  on 
the  ground  that  it  makes  a  large  yield  at  a  small  cost. 

SOILS — The  strongest  soils  only  are  adapted  to  the  growth  of  this 
rank  feeder  and  even  these  should  be  heavily  manured  to  secure  the  best 
results.  Plenty  of  moisture  in  the  soil  is  required  for  its  growth  and  for 
that  reason  a  dry  sandy  soil  is  unfit  for  its  cultivation.  A  deep  calcareous 
loam  or  a  rich  alluvial  soil  is  to  be  preferred.  The  rich  lands  in  the  loess 
formation  of  West  Tennessee,  the  fertile  river  bottoms  of  Middle  and 
East  Tennessee  and  the  deep  soils  of  the  central  basin  are  all  well  suited 
to  its  growth.  The  rich  moist  upland  valleys  of  the  highland  rim  deeply 
plowed  and  heavily  manured  will  yield  large  crops  of  it. 

Pearl  millet  does  best  when  sown  in  drills  eighteen  inches  apart.  The 
running  of  a  cultivator  or  double  shovel  once  .between  the  rows  is  suf- 
ficient cultivation  to  give  it.  It  is  a  rapid  grower  and  will  overlap  the 
rows  within  three  weeks  after  sowing.  About  one  peck  of  seed  when 
drilled  is  sufficient  to  plant  an  acre;  one  bushel  per  acre  is  required  when 
sown  broadcast.  It  is  a  plant  very  sensitive  to  cold  and  it  should  not  be 
planted  until  all  danger  of  frost  has  passed. 

Mr.  P.  Henderson,  of  New  Jersey,  gives  an  interesting  account  of 
his  experience  with  it,  which  is  here  condensed.  He  prepared  the  land 
by  applying  ten  tons  of  stable  manure  to  the  acre  and  then  plowing  it  ten 
inches  deep.  The  seed  was  sown  in  drills  eighteen  inches  apart  on  the 
15th  of  May.  After  coming  up  a  cultivator  was  run  between  the  rows  one 
time  which  was  all  the  cultivation  it  received.  The  first  cutting  was 
made  46  days  after  planting.  When  cut  it  was  seven  feet  high  and  covered 
the  whole  ground.  This  cutting  weighed  green,  gave  a  yield  of  thirty 
tons  to  the  acre;  weighed  after  being  dried,  six  and  a  half  tons.  The 
second  growth,  which  was  of  tropical  luxuriance,  started  at  once  from  the 
stubble  left  three  inches  high  at  first  cutting.  The  second  cutting  was 
August  15th?  forty-five  days  from  the  first  cutting.  The  height  of  this 
was  nine  feet  and  it  weighed  at  the  rate  of  forty-five  tons  to  the  acre, 
green,  and  eight  tons  dried.  The  third  crop  was -cut  October  1st,  which 
weighed  ten  tons  green  and  one  and  a  half  tons  dried.  The  cool  weather 
of  autumn  sensibly  affected  its  growth.  The  aggregate  yield  from  one 


32 


sowing  was  ninety-five  tons,  in  135  days,  of  green  fodder,  which  made  six- 
teen tons  when  dried.  It  should  be  cut  for  hay  when  the  heads  first 
appear. 


Pearl  or  Cat-tail  Millet — Pennisetum  typhoideum. 

As   to   its   feeding  value   it   is   about   equal   to   corn   fodder.     Cattle, 
horses  and  sheep  are  very  fond  of  it  both  green  and  dry.     It  has  probably 


33 


the  largest  productive  capacity,  when  grown  upon  highly  manured  lands, 
of  any  forage  crop  now  grown.  While  the  fodder  is  coarse  it  is  highly 
nutritious.  The  only  difficulty  is  to  cure  it  sufficiently  td  prevent  it  from 
fermenting  and  moulding.  It  will  grow  and  flourish  wherever  Indian 
corn  may  be  grown.  The  weight  of  the  seed  is  fifty  pounds  per  bushel. 

MEADOW  OAT  GRASS  OR  EVERGREEN—  (Arrhenatherum 

elatius.} — (Meadow  and  Pasture.) 

This  grass  is  equally  valuable  for  making  hay,  for  pasturage  and  for 
soiling.  It  produces  an  immense  amount  of  foliage  and  its  aftermath 
is  about  as  heavy  as  the  first  crop.  Having  characteristics  and  adapta- 
bility similar  to  those  of  the  oat,  it  has  been  widely  distributed  in  the 
United  States  from  New  England  to  Georgia.  It  was  introduced  into 
this  country  from  England  where  it  is  highly  prized  for  its  good  quali- 
ties. It  is  a  favorite  grass  in 
France  and  the  south  of  Europe 
generally.  It  is  an  object  of  ad- 
miration to  all  lovers  of  the 
grasses,  by  reason  of  its  great 
height,  its  gracefully  bending 
panicles,  its  purplish  anthers,  its 
flag-like  leaves  hanging  in  grace- 
ful arches  beneath  the  panicle, 
the  green  of  which  contrasts 
with  the  purple  of  the  anthers 
and  the  violet  of  the  flowering 
glumes  making  altogether  a  rare 
picture  of  grace  and  beauty. 

SOILS— This  is  one  of  the 
grasses  that  will  grow  best  on 
dry  sandy  soils,  and  is  a  great 
acquisition  therefore  to  those 
sections  of  Tennessee  where 
sandstone  soils  predominate.  It 
may  be  grown  on  the  Cumber- 
land table-land  with  success.  Al- 
though it  prefers  sandy  soils  it 
will  thrive  upon  any  rich,  dry, 
well-drained  land.  It  is  a  very 
hardy  perennial  and  will  resist  equally  the  heat  of  summer  and  the  cold 
of  winter.  In  Southern  latitudes  it  is  green  throughout  the  year  and 
hence  the  name  evergreen.  In  a  favorable  season  two  crops  of  hay  may 
be  harvested  from  the  same  sowing  in  one  }ear. 

The  best  time  for  sowing  in  the  latitude  of  Tennessee  is  in  March  or 
April,  or  it  may  be  sown  in  the  fall  from  the  middle  of  September  to  the 
last  of  October.  As  this  grass  has  a  tendency  to  grow  in  tussocks  like 
orchard  grass  plenty  of  seed,  not  less  than  two  bushels,  should  be  sown 
to  the  acre. 

Mr.    Edwin    Montgomery,    of    Mississippi,    writes    to    the    American 


Meadow  Oat  Grass  or  Evergreen — Arrhena- 
therum elatius. 

1.  Panicle.    2.   Spikelet,  with  the  empty 

glumes  removed.    3.  Empty  glumes. 

4.  Awned  floral  glume. 


34 


Agriculturist  that  many  persons  in  his  locality  state  if  they  were  restricted 
to  one  grass,  tall  meadow  oat  grass  would  be  the  one  selected. 

Mr.  Jared  G.  Smith,  Assistant  Agrostologist  of  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture,  says  it  is  one  of  the  best  drought-resistant 
cultivated  grasses,  but  he  does  not  recommend  that  it  be  sown  alone  un- 
less it  is  grown  for  seed  only.  "The  forage,"  he  says,  "is  bitter  and  is 
not  readily  eaten  by  cattle  except  where  it  occurs  in  small  quantities 
mixed  with  other  grasses.  However,  the  hay  is  of  fine  quality  and  is 
relished  by  stock." 

It  grows  rapidly  and  comes  into  blossom  early.  The  best  time  for 
cutting  it  is  during  its  period  of  inflorescence.  It  likes  heat  and  will 
grow  with  more  vigor  on  southern  than  on  northern  slopes.  An  excess 
of  moisture  soon  destroys  it.  Well  drained  lands  should  therefore  be 
selected  for  its  cultivation.  The  seed  weighs  ten  pounds  to  the  bushel. 

Mr.  Sinclair  says  it  is  subject  to  rust  in  England  which  does  not 
appear  on  the  blades  however,  until  after  its  flowering  season. 

The  directions  for  preparing  the  soil  and  the  sowing  of  timothy  will 
apply  to  the  seeding  of  this  grass. 

ITALIAN,  GERMAN  OR  GOLDEN  MILLET—  (Setaria  Italica]— (Grown 
for  Hay  and  Soiling. ) 

This  is  an  annual  and  is  extensively  cultivated  in  parts  of  Tennessee 
for  hay.  It  differs  from  German  millet  only  in  having  a  larger  head  but 
less  dense.  It  is  considered  superior  to  the  common  millet  and  indeed  to 
all  other  kinds  for  soiling  purposes  but  not  for  hay.  It  grows  to  the 
height  of  from  three  to  five  feet  on  good  soils. 

SOILS— Italian  millet,  like 
all  the  millet  family,  requires  a 
strong,  rich,  deep  soil,  suffi- 
ciently clayey  to  retain  a 
large  amount  of  moisture;  at 
the  same  time  the  land  must 
be  thoroughly  drained.  It 
should  receive  a  good  coat  of 
stable  manure  and  be  well 
broken  in  the  winter  and 
pjowed  again  in  the  spring 
and  frequently  harrowed, 
logged  or  rolled  until  the 
earth  is  fine  and  lightly  com- 
pacted. All  rank  growth  of 
vegetable  matter  turned  under 
before  sowing  is  decidedly  in- 
jurious. Such  vegetable  mat- 
ter makes  the  land  dry  and 
thirsty  and  too  porous.  On 
land  so  prepared  failures  will 
result  in  four  cases  out  of 
five. 

A  clayey  soil  in  a  moist  situation,  enriched  by  the  application  of  well 
rotted  stable  manure,  kept  in  good  tilth,  that  has  been  deeply  and  well 


Italian  Millet — Setaria  Italica. 

2.   Inflorescence.    3.  Upper  leaf.    4.  Spikelet, 

with  two  bristles.    5.  Spikelet  L  aid  open. 


35 

broken  the  previous  winter,  and  upon  which  all  vegetation  has  been  kept 
down  by  frequent  plowings  or  harrowing,  are  the  most  favorable  condi- 
tions for  the  growth  of  a  large  crop  of  millet.  Upon  land  so  prepared 
one  bushel  of  seed  to  the  acre  will  be  sufficient.  The  ground  should  not 
be  dry  or  wet  when  it  is  sown.  If  too  dry  many  of  the  seeds  will  perish 
near  the  surface;  if  too  wet  the  land  will  be  compacted  and  the  crop  will 
"french"  or  turn  yellow.  After  sowing,  harrow  well  with  a  light  harrow 


a, 


German  Millet  —  Setaria  Italica  var. 

a,  b,  Spikelet  and  "beards,"    c.  Seed. 

(U.  S.  Dept.  Agric.) 

or  run  a  drag  brush  over  the  land,  or  use  a  smoothing  harrow.  Millet 
may  be  sown  at  any  time  in  the  latitude  of  Tennessee  from  the  first  of 
April  until  the  15th  of  August.  One  good  soaking  rain  after  sowing  will 
assure  an  abundant  crop.  It  is  a  very  rapid  grower  and  a  rank  feeder. 
It  will  be  ready  for  the  mower  within  fifty  to  sixty  days  after  it  is  sown. 

Millet  must  be  cut  when  it  begins  to  head  and  before  it  blooms.    To 
put  off  the  time  of  harvesting  until  the  seeds  are  ripe  will  be  to  ruin  the 


36 


hay,  for  when  cut  at  this  stage  it  is  not  only  worthless  for  forage'  or  hay 
but  the  abundance  of  seed  renders  it  dangerous  for  feeding  to  horses,  as  it 
will  affect  their  kidneys  in  a  very  marked  degree.  The  hay  is  cured  and 
treated  in  the  same  way  as  timothy  hay  but  a  little  more  time  is  required 
to  cure  it  properly.  The  less  millet  is  exposed  to  the  sun  after  it  is  cut 
the  better  will  be  the  hay.  The  yield  of  hay  on  very  fertile  well  prepared 
land,  is  as  much  as  three  to  five  tons  per  acre. 

For  raising  seed  run  light  parallel  rows  three  feet  apart  and  drill  the 
seed  with  a  tin  cup  or  an  oyster  can  having  three  or  four  holes  punched  in 
the  bottom  with  an  eight  penny  nail.  Walk  rapidly  holding  the  cup  over 
a  row  and  the  seed  will  be  distributed  about  thick  enough.  Cover 
slightly  and  when  the  seed  germinates  and  before  it  comes  up  run  over 
the  land  with  a  light  harrow.  Cultivate  between  the  rows  with  a  double 


Millets. 

1.  Italian  or  Common  Millet.    2.  Hungarian  Millet.    3.  German  or  Golden 
Millet  (varieties  of  Italian.)     (U.  S.  Dept.  Agric.) 

shovel  plow,  one  plowing  being  all  that  is  necessary.  The  millet  should 
be  thinned  to  a  mere  thread  of  plants.  Cut  when  the  seed  is  in  the 
dough  state  with  a  self-binding  reaper.  Put  the  bundles  in  shocks  and 
thresh  when  the  heads  are  thoroughly  dry.  The  yield  is  frequently  from 
30  to  40  bushels  of  choice  seed  to  the  acre. 

Italian  millet,  and  indeed  every  kind  of  millet,  is  very  exhausting  to 
the  soil,  especially  if  the  seed  is  permitted  to  ripen. 

This  grass  is  of  great  value  to  tlie  renter  who  has  rarely  the  oppor- 
tunity of  continuing  in  possession  of  the  land  long  enough  to  sow  a 
meadow  and  reap  the  benefit  of  it.  But  for  the  proprietor  who  has  suita- 


37 

ble  soils  there  is  no  excuse  for  not  providing  himself  with  the  best  hay 
th-?  climate  and  soil  can  afford,  and  there  are  plenty  of  good  grasses  to 
suit  almost  every  variety  of  soil  in  the  state  of  Tennessee.  If  a  farmer 
who  is  a  landowner,  wishes  to  indulge  the  pride,  and  it  is  an  economical 
pride,  of  having  fat  horses,  sleek  cattle,  and  plenty  of  bacon,  let  him  at 
once  see  to  his  meadows,  for  a  good  meadow  is  next  to  a  corn-crib  to 
prepare  pork  for  the  smoke-house,  as  well  as  to  fatten  all  kinds  of  stock. 
A  crop  ol  millet  is  a  good  forerunner  for  a  meadow  as  it  destroys  all  the 
noxious  weeds,  and  leaves  the  land  in  fine  condition  for  timothy  or  herd's 
grass. 

Italian  millet  is  sometimes  called  Missouri  millet  and  Tennessee  mil- 
let, there  being  a  slight  variation  induced  by  differences  in  soil  and 
climate. 

HUNGARIAN  MILLET  OR  HUNGARIAN  GRASS— (Setaria 
Italicavar.  Germanics.) — (Grown  for  Hay  and  Soiling). 

There  is  a  very  slight  difference  between  this  and  the  Italian  millet. 
Botanists  regard  it  as  a  variety  of  Italian  millet.  The  head  is  not  so 
large  or  long  as  that  of  Italian  millet,  but  it  is  more  compact.  It  was 
introduced  into  France  in  1815  and  is  largely  grown  for  forage  in  that 
country.  It  is  much  relished  by  horses  and  cattle  and  has  the  capacity 
of  resisting  droughts  better  than  the  Italian  millet.  As  a  hay  grass  it  is 
probably  preferred  to  Italian  millet,  both  because  the  head  is  smaller  and 
the  straw  is  not  so  coarse.  It  also  cures  more  quickly  and  does  not  grow 
so  rank,  nor  does  it  require  so  much  moisture  in  the  soil.  It  will  grow 
on  any  soil  rich  enough  to  produce  good  corn  or  potatoes.  If  sown  after 
potatoes  it  yields  remarkably  well  and  especially  if  the  land  was  manured 
when  put  in  potatoes.  Old  well-rotted  manure  is  much  better  for  its 
growth  than  fresh  stable  manure.  In  the  management  of  this  grass  the 
same  instructions  as  given  for  Italian  millet  must  be  followed. 

Hungarian  millet  attains  maturity  a  week  or  ten  days  earlier  than 
Italian  millet  sown  at  the  same  time.  It  should  be  cut  when  the  seed 
is  just  beginning  to  form.  Two  to  three  tons  of  hay  to  the  acre  is  not 
unusual.  One  good  rain  thoroughly  wetting  the  ground  after  the  seed 
is  sown  is.  sufficient  to  bring  the  crop  to  maturity. 

For  seed  cultivate  in  the  same  manner  as  for  Italian  millet. 

Two  or  three  crops  of  Hungarian  millet  can  easily  be  raised  from  the 
same  ground  in  one  year.  A  farmer  of  Davidson  county  raised  a  most 
excellent  crop  of  Hungarian  millet,  sown  the  first  day  of  September  and 
cut  on  the  10th  of  October.  Another,  of  Williamson  county,  -secured  a 
good  crop  of  German  millet  sown  on  the  13th  day  of  August  and  cut  on 
the  12th  day  of  October.  So,  if  a  farmer,  by  any  kind  of  misfortune,  fails 
in  the  earlier  months  to  secure  a  sufficient  quantity  of  dry  forage  for  his 
stock,  he  can,  as  a  dernier  resort,  start  very  late  in  supplying  himself,  by 
crops  of  this  grass.  Should  it  be  desired  to  use  the  hay  as  a  green  forage, 
it  can  be  cut  three  times  at  least,  provided  it  is  done  before  it  begins  to 
throw  up  the  seed  stalks.  It  is  a  common  custom  in  the  southern  states 
to  use  it  in  this  manner  instead  of  buying  the  expensive  baled  hay  of  the 
north. 


38 

COMMON  OR  BROOM  CORN  MILLET—  (Panicum  miliaceum.}— (Grown 
for  Hay  and  Soiling. ) 

The  heads  of  common  millet  are  large,  open  and  nodding,  resembling 
broom-corn  in  general  appearance.  This  grass  is  used  for  the  same  pur- 
poses, and  cultivated  in  the  same  manner  and  upon  like  soils,  as  Italian 
millet  and  Hungarian  grass.  It  will  yield  from  sixty  to  seventy  bushels 
of  seed  per  acre.  Cut  after  the  seed  is  ripe  it  is  valueless  -as  food  for  any 
kind  of  stock. 


Broom  Corn  Millet — Panicum  miliaceum. 

a,  b,  c,  Spikelet  and  Chaff,    d,  e,  Two  views  of  Seed. 

(U.  S.  Dept.  Agric.) 


39 


GAMA     GRASS— SESAME      GRASS— (Tripsacum     dactyloides)—CFor 
Hay  and  Soiling.) 

Gama  grass  merits  more  attention  from  Tennessee  farmers  than  it 
has  ever  received.  It  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  beautiful  perennial 
grasses  grown  in  the  South,  reaching  oftentimes  a  height  of  seven  feet. 
When  young  and  succulent  it  is  eaten  with  avidity  by  stock  and  makes 
from  its  rapid  growth  a  good  soiling  or  forage  crop  or  material  for  the 

silo.  Its  leaves  are  very  large, 
equal  in  size  to  the  leaves  of 
Indian  corn.  It  has  very 
strong  creeping  root  stocks, 
which  are  as  large  as  those  of 
cane  roots,  but  close  grazing 
will  destroy  the  grass  in  a  few 
years. 

Gama  grass  may  be  cut 
three  or  four  times  a  year  and 
though  in  its  native  state  it 
grows  in  swamps,  it  .  will 
thrive  almost  equally  well  on 
dry  or  sandy  ridges.  It  will 
grow  where  timothy  or  or- 
chard grass  will  not,  and  con- 
sequently it  is  well  suited  to  a 
large  section  of  our  State.  The 
quantity  of  hay  taken  from 
one  acre  is  simply  enormous, 

GamaorSesameGrass-Tripsacumdactyloid.es.          resembling    very     much     COrn- 

fodder.     As   a  hay   it  is   fully 
equal  to    corn-fodder,    and  it 
can  be  saved  at  one-tenth  the 
labor  required  to  save  fodder. 
It  is  very  nutritious  and  succulent  when  cut  green.     The  great  mass 
of  roots  will  serve  to  open,  loosen  and  improve  the  land  upon  which  it 
grows.     It  should  never  be  allowed  to  shoot  up  the  seed  stem  when  de- 
sired for  hay. 

It  is  with  difficulty  the  seed  can  be  made  to  vegetate  and  therefore  it 
must  be  propagated  by  slips  from  the  roots.  Prepare  the  land  well,  lay 
off  the  furrows  with  a  bull-tongue  plow  two  feet  apart,  and  drop  small 
pieces  of  root  about  one  foot  apart  in  the  furrow,  covering  with  a  board. 
The  creeping  roots  will  soon  meet,  and  the  ground  is  quickly  turfed  with 
the  grass.  It  should  be  planted  early  in  September.  Of  course,  the 
richer  the  land,  whether  upland  or  bottom,  the  greater  the  yield.  Poor 
land  rarely  makes  better  crops  of  anything  than  fertile  land.  I  have  seen 
this  grass  growing  with  great  luxuriance  in  Montgomery  county,  Tenn. 


2.  Inflorescence.     3.  Base  of  the  female  inflor- 
escence.   4.  Upper  leaf.    5.  Male  or  stam- 
inate  spikelet.    6.  Female  spikelet 
in  section.    7.  Female  spike- 
let  expanded. 


40 


TEOSINTE — (Euchlcena  Mexicana,  E.  luxurians.} — (Grown  for  Fodder.) 

This  is  an  annual  grass 
and  in  the  luxuriance  and 
largeness  of  its  growth  it  much 
resembles  Indian  corn.  It  at- 
tains a  height  upon  fertile 
soils  of  from  eight  to  twelve 
feet.  It  is  of  tropical  origin 
and  was  introduced  into  the 
United  States  probably  from 
Central  America  or  Mexico, 
or  from  both. 

It  has  been  successfully 
grown  at  the  Experiment  Sta- 
tion at  Knoxville,  and  is  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  most 
prolific  forage  plants  known 
to  agriculture.  Stock  is  very 
fond  of  it,  and  it  will  yield 
twenty  or  more  tons  of  green 
forage  per  acre.  It  will  bear 
cutting  several  times  during 
the  year  but  some  authorities 
believe  that  the  best  results 
will  be  obtained  from  a  single 
cutting  just  before  frost.  It 
tillers  greatly,  as  many  as 
fifty  stalks  having  been 
observed  as  springing  from 
the  same  root.  The  Agricul- 
tural Department  at  Wash- 
ington recommends  that  teo- 
sinte  be  planted  in  drills  three 
feet  apart  and  thinned  to  a 

Fig.  32. 
Teostnte — Euchlcena  Mexicana,E.  luxurians. 


The  uppermost  cut  in  the  figure  shows  the 
male  inflorescence  reduced  one-half;  to  the  right 
below  is  shown  the  female  inflorescence  mostly 
concealed  within  the  sheathing  leaf:  to  the  left 
below  is  shown  a  single  female  spike.  R.  A 
joint  of  the  rachis  of  the  female  spike.  St.  Ter- 
minal portion  of  the  stigma. 


foot  apart  in  the  rows.  One 
pound  of  seed  is  sufficient  to 
plant  an  acre.  One  drawback 
to  this  grass  is  that  it  does  not 
mature  its  seed  in  Tennessee, 
and  very  rarely  north  of 
Southern  Florida. 
The  soil  for  its  growth  must  be  deep,  moist  and  fertile.  Any  soil 
suitable  for  corn  will  produce  teosinte.  It  is  one  of  the  rankest  feeders 
of  all  the  grasses.  Dairymen  living  near  a  city  would  find  it  valuable  as 
a  soiling  crop  for  cutting  green  and  .feeding  to  milch  cows.  The  stalks 
are  very  tender  and  are  eaten  greedily  by  cattle,  whether  green  or  dry. 

It  is  a  difficult  matter  to  cure  this  grass  properly  and  many  other 
grasses  adapted  to  the  soils  of  Tennessee  are  to  be  preferred  to  it  for 
making  winter  feed  for  stock.  It  may  be  cut  with  corn  knives  in  the  fall 


41 

and  set  up  in  shocks.  It  has  very  little,  if  any  advantage  over  corn  when 
the  latter  is  cut  and  put  up  before  the  blades  are  dry.  Teosinte  harvested 
in  the  same  way  would  probably  have  its  greatest  value  and  be  most  easily 
saved  at  the  smallest  cost  for  labor.  It  is  superior  to  corn  as  a  forage 
crop  only  in  its  capacity  of  giving  a  greater  yield. 


Teosinte — Euchlcena  Mexicana,  E.  luxurians. 

Showing  its  robust  character  and  habit  of  throwing  up  many  stalks  or  culms 
from  a  single  root. 

SUGAR    SORGHUM— CHINESE    SUGAR    CORN— (Sorghum    sac- 
charatum,') — (Hay,  Pasture,    Forage,  Silo  and  for  the  Manu- 
facture of  Syrup. 

Fifty  years  ago  sugar  sorghum  or  Chinese  sugar-corn,  was  unknown 
in  the  United  States.  It  is  now  grown  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  in  every 
southern  state,  all  through  the  western  states  and  as  far  north  as  Pennsyl- 


42 


vania  and  New  York  and  even  in  Canada.  At  first  it  was  grown  only 
for  the  manufacture  of  syrup.  It  was  soon  discovered,  however,  that  stock 
of  all  kinds  ate  it  with  a  decided  relish  and  that  it  kept  them  fat.  About 
1880  it  first  began  to  be  grown  in  Tennessee  as  food  for  .cattle.  It  is 
now  grown  extensively  for  forage  in  every  part  of  the  State  and  by  many 
farmers  it  is  regarded  as  far  superior  to  corn  fodder  for  feeding  cattle.  It 
certainly  abounds  in  fat-making  elements.  The  seed  in  India  and  in  other 
tropical  regions  is  largely  employed  by  the  inhabitants  as  food  and  it  is 
asserted  by  high  authority  that  more  people  subsist  upon  it  and  kindred 
species  than  upon  any  other  cereal.  While  wheat  makes  the  best  bread, 
sorghum  seed,  Kaffir-corn,  Durra-corn  and  other  like  species  can  be  pro- 
duced cheaper  and  is  the  chief  "staff  of  life"  among  the 
poorer  classes  in  the  Orient.  In  Tennessee  the  grain  has 
rarely  been  employed  for  human  food,  but  it  has  been  fed 
to  all  kinds  of  live  stock  and  it  is  especially  valued  for 
feeding  poultry. 

VARIETIES,  SOILS  AND  CULTIVATION.— 
There  is  a  vast  number  of  varieties  and  sub-varieties  of 
sorghum.  Original!}'  there  were  two  leading  kinds,  the 
Chinese  sugar  cane  and  the  Inphee,  known  as  the  red  and 
the  black,  or  the  Chinese  and  the  African.  For  the  man- 
ufacture of  sugar,  probably  the  Inphee  cane  is  superior, 
but  for  the  manufacture  of  syrup,  the  Chinese  is  preferred. 
These  varieties  have  been  modified  by  cultivation  and  cli- 
mate and  from  them  have  originated  several  that  are  re- 
garded for  specific  purposes  much  better  than  the  two 
great  original  varieties.  The  variety  called  amber  is  most 
widely  distributed  and  is  used  for  forage  purposes  in 
almost  every  state  where  sorghum  is  cultivated.  What  is 
known  as  the  early  amber  is  used  both  for  forage  and  for 
pasture.  The  amber  variety  is  very  sweet,  very  early,  not 
very  rank  and  therefore  is  better  adapted  for  making  a 
coarse  kind  of  hay.  The  orange  varieties  are  said  to  come 
next  to  the  amber  varieties  in  point  of  popularity  and  use- 
fulness. These  are  coarser  than  the  amber  varieties. 
They  do  not  grow  so  rapidly  or  mature  so  quickly  and  are 
therefore  not  so  much  used  for  early  feeding  or  for  hay. 
They  are  said,  however,  to  be  better  for  soiling  purposes 
and  for  the  silo.  Other  varieties  are  known  as  Folger's 
early,  Coleman  and  gooseneck.  For  summer  pasturage, 
Folger's  early  is  said  to  be  an  excellent  variety. 
Sorghum  will  thrive  to  some  extent  on  the  poorest  soils.  When  the 
earth  is  parched  up  by  drought  it  maintains  its  fresh,  green  color  and 
continues  to  grow.  However,  it  will  thrive,  better  on  rich,  calcareous  and 
alluvial  soils,  and  though  the  juice  may  have  more  water,  when  grown 
on  such  soils  it  will  make  far  more  syrup.  The  roots  of  sorghum  pene- 
trate the  soil  deeper  probably  than  any  other  cereal  and  consequently 
deep  plowing  in  the  preparation  of  the  soil  is  highly  important  to  make  a 
full  crop.  Not  only  should  the  plow  be  used,  but  the  subsoiler  also.  On 


Seedhead  of 
Amber-Orange 

Sorghum. 

(U.  S.  Dept. 

of  Agric.) 


43 


good  land  it  grows  to  a  height  of  15  to  18  feet;  on  poor,  badly  prepared 
land,  it  stops  at  five  or  six  feet.  Because  it  will  grow  on  poorer  land  than 
other  plants  is  no  evidence  that  poor  land  is  better  for  it.  On  gravelly  or 
sandy  subsoils,  the  roots  will  go  four  or  five  feet  deep,  and  on  this  kind 
of  land,  if  rich,  it  will  make  far  more  syrup  and  of  a  better  quality.  For 
syrup  making  it  should  be  planted  in  drills  three  feet  apart.  In  four  or 
five  days  the  young  and  tender  plants  come  up,  looking  very  much  like 


Seedheads  of  Sorghum — Collier  variety,  one  of  the  best. 
(U.  S.  Dept.  Agric.) 

grass.  Young  sorghum  grows  rapidly,  and  soon  outstrips  the  weeds. 
When  three  or  four  inches  high,  it  should  be  chopped  and  thinned  out, 
and  but  little  more  work  need  be  done  to  it.  Two  or  three  plowings  are 
all  it  should  receive,  as  the  roots  penetrate  the  ground  so  thickly  the 
plant  will  receive  more  injury  than  benefit  if  plowed  after  it  is  three  or 
four  feet  high.  Besides,  by  that  time  the  ground  is  so  shaded  by  lateral 
branches  and  suckers  that  the  weeds  will  effect  no  material  injury. 


44 

Much  difference  of  opinion  existed  at  first,  and  still  exists,  as  to  the 
best  time  of  cutting  so  as  to  get  the  largest  amount  of  good  syrup.  Some 
assert  it  should  be  harvested  when  the  seeds  are  in  the  milky  state,  others 
when  they  are  fully  matured.  A  slight  degree  of  frost  does  not  injure  it, 
and  this  has  caused  the  loss  of  many  a  crop,  for  whenever  it  freezes,  fer- 
mentation ensues,  and  it  will  not  make  syrup  at  all;  or  if  it  does  it  is 
black  and  has  a  disagreeable  odor.  But  repeated  experiments  have  dem- 
onstrated the  fact  that  early  cut  cane  makes  the  best  and  cleanest 
molasses. 

AS  A  FORAGE  AND  SOILING  CROP— But  it  is  rather  as  a  for- 
age crop  that  the  methods  of  cultivating  and  curing  this  plant  properly 
belong  in  this  bulletin.  Its  uses  are  almost  as  various  as  those  of  Indian 
corn  itself.  As  has  already  been  stated,  it  is  greedily  eaten  in  all  stages  by 
stock  of  every  kind.  The  seeds  are  abundant  and  one  acre  of  good  sor- 
ghum will  make  from  forty  to  sixty  bushels  of  seed.  The  heads  can  be 
cut  from  the  stalks  and  stored  for  use,  taking  care  to  spread  them  out  until 
they  are  dry,  when  they  make  good  food  for  cattle,  horses,  sheep,  hogs 
and  poultry.  When  ground  into  flour  they  make  good  bread.  Both 
the  seeds  and  the  expressed  juice  have  been  extensively  used  in  distilla- 
tion, large  quantities  of  alcohol  and  sorghum  brandy  being  annually  made 
from  them.  During  the  civil  war  it  formed  almost  the  only  resource  of 
the  South  for  whisky,  all  other  kinds  of  grain  being  in  too  much  demand 
for  distillers  to  use  them. 

But  probably  it  possesses  more  good  qualities  as  a  green  soiling 
plant  than  any  other.  Let  it  be  sown  on  good  land,  either  broadcast  or 
thickly  drilled  with  a  seed  drill,  from  April  to  July,  with  about  one  bushel 
of  seed  to  the  acre,  and  the  amount  of  forage  will  be  immense.  It  will 
yield  from  20  to  30  tons  of  green  fodder  to  the  acre,  which,  when  dry, 
will  make  four  to  six  tons  of  the  sweetest  and  best  of  hay,  and  stock  will 
eat  up  the  last  vestige  of  it. 

HARVESTING  AND  CURING— The  most  difficult  thing  in  con- 
nection with  the  growing  of  sorghum  for  hay,  is  to  cure  it  properly. 
When  sown  broad-cast  upon  a  rich  soil  using  three  bushels  or  more  of 
seed  per  acre  or  when  drilled  with  a  wheat  drill  using  a  like  amount  of 
seed,  it  makes  such  a  rank  growth  that  it  is  a  troublesome  task  to  cut  and 
save  it.  If  the  seed  is  sown  thick  enough  so  that  the  stalks  will  be  small, 
the  crop  may  be  cut  with  a  mower.  If  the  stalks  are  large,  a  corn  knife 
will  have  to  be  used  or  a  corn  harvester.  Some  farmers  use  the  self- 
binder  in  cutting  the  crop  but  in  this  case  the  height  of  the  stalks  must 
not  be  over  five  or  six  feet. 

The  proper  time  for  cutting  is  when  the  heads  begin  to  flower.  Then 
it  should  be  cut  and  bundled  as  corn  fodder,  or  it  may  be  left  spread  on 
the  ground;  if  the  weather  is  good,  for  several  days,  and  it  will  be  dry 
enough  to  store  but  not  in  too  large  a  bulk.  Its  stems  are  so  full  of 
juices  that  it  will  not  cure  quickly.  The  juices  in  it,  however,  will  sugar 
in  a  few  days  when  it  will  keep  as  well  as  timothy.  It  possesses  fattening 
qualities  in  an  eminent  degree  and  nothing  like  it  was  ever  used  for  im- 
proving a  drove  of  mules.  If  the  farmer  has  a  drove  of  mules  or  herd  of 
cattle  or  milch  cows  or  flock  of  sheep  it  can  be  fed  to  them  from  the  time 


45 

it  is  two  feet  high  and  they  will  eat  it  with  avidity.  By  the  time  a  field 
is  gone  over,  it  will  be  ready  to  cut  again,  as  the  root  freely  throws  up 
new  suckers  and  will  continue  to  do  so  until  stopped  by  the  frost.  Thus, 
as  many  as  three  crops  of  it.  if  sown  early  can  be  cut  in  Tennessee  as  a 
soiling  crop,  before  it  is  destroyed  by  the  cold.  Or  if  it  is  not  wanted  as 


Sorghum  Growing  on  the  Station  Farm,  University  of  Tennessee. 
(U.  S.  Dept.  Agric.) 

green  forage,  it  can  be  cut  at  blossoming  for  hay,  at  least  twice  without 
resowing.     And  the  second  crop  will  be  as  good  as  the  first. 

After  lying  on  the  ground  for  three  or  four  days  it  may  be  gathered 
and  shocked  like  corn,  if  the  stalks  are  large,  but  if  they  are  small  they 


46 

may  be  raked  up  and  put  into  cocks  from  which,  after  remaining  for  a 
few  days,  the  hay  may  be  hauled  to  a  shelter  or  put  into  stacks  and 
topped  off  with  fodder,  rye  straw,  herd's  grass  or  timothy  hay.  It  will 
be  necessary  if  the  crop  is  very  rank  to  turn  it  over  on  the  ground  so  that 
all  parts  of  it  may,  as  far  as  possible,  be  equally  exposed  to  the  sun. 

The  difficulty  of  curing  is  greatly  increased  during  rainy  weather,  as 
under  such  a  condition  the  stalks  are  apt  to  blacken  and  ferment.  Some 
farmers  find  the  best  way  to  preserve  it  from  fermentation  is  to  make 
alternate  layers  of  sorghum  and  dry  wheat  straw,  the  latter  readily  ab- 
sorbing any  undue  moisture  which  may  remain. 

For  a  long  time  the  farmers  objected  to  growing  it  extensively  be- 
cause they  believed  it  to  be  a  very  exhaustive  crop  to  the  soil.  This  is 
true  when  the  seeds  are  permitted  to  ripen  fully.  In  fact  the  experience 
of  the  writer  is  that  if  left  to  ripen  seed  it  exhausts  soils  more  than  the 
growth  of  corn  or  wheat.  But  when  sorghum  is  cut  just  as  the  head 
begins  to  blossom  and  before  the  draughts  are  made  upon  the  soil  for 
maturing  the  seed,  it  injures  the  soil  less  than  probably  any  other  crop 
yielding  as  much  forage.  In  many  parts  of  Tennessee  where  there  are 
fields  well  suited  for  the  growing  of  sorghum  the  same  land  is  planted 
with  it  for  several  years  in  succession  without  showing  any  diminution  in 
the  quality  or  quantity  of  the  forage  produced.  It  is  claimed  by  some 
observant  farmers  that  the  land  is  benefited  by  the  deep  growing  roots 
through  their  agency  in  permitting  the  soil  to  be  thoroughly  aerated. 
Very  little  injury  is  done  to  the  soil  by  removing  the  crop  in  an  e^arly 
stage  of  development.  Many  farmers  claim  that  when  planted  late  with 
cowpeas  or  other  field  peas  and  cut  before  the  seeds  are  matured,  the 
land  is  left  in  excellent  condition. 

Mr.  Bulow,  of  South  Carolina,  in  speaking  of  sorghum^  says: 

"I  rely  almost  entirely  on  early  amber  sorghum  as  forage  for  my 
sheep  and  cattle.  I  cultivate  it  in  three-foot  rows  and  sow  the  seed 
rather  thick.  About  the  time  the  heads  begin  to  get  hard,  cut  and  put 
up  in  shocks  and  bind  tightly  at  the  top  and  it  can  remain  in  the  fields  for 
three  or  four  days,  as  we  have  but  little  rain  during  the  fall  months." 

Mr.  Thompson,  of  Georgia,  says: 

"Sorghum  makes  good  roughness.  Plant  thick  in  the  drill,  cultivate 
it,  cut  it  and  shock  until  cured.  Make  the  shocks  small;  when  partly 
cured  put  two  to  four  together.  Sow  about  one  and  one-half  bushels  of 
seed  to  the  acre  and  mow  and  cure  like  millet." 

In  Texas  the  hay  is  often  baled  from  the  cocks  after  giving  it  an  addi- 
tional exposure  to  the  sun  for  several  hours.  The  experiments  made  at 
the  Texas  Station  show  that  the  percentages  of  fat  and  protein  increase 
as  the  sorghum  ripens,  but  when  ripened  it  is  not  so  digestible,  so  that 
the  increase  in  fats  and  protein  are  more  than  off-set  by  the  indigestibility 
of  the  forage. 

Georgia  experiments  show  that  the  highest  percentages  of  fat  and 
protein  are  found  in  the  plant  when  "cut  during  its  inflorescence.  Un- 
questionably the  consensus  of  opinion  with  a  large  majority  of  farmers  is 
that  it  makes  the  best  forage  when  cut  in  bloom.  The  yield  often  runs 
as  high  as  12  to  15  tons  from  one  sowing.  As  a  food  for  milch  cows  it  is 


47 

unexcelled  on  account  of  the  large  flow  of  rich  milk,  which  it  induces. 
Care  should  be  taken  at  first  in  the  feeding  of  the  green  forage  to  cattle 
unaccustomed  to  it.  They  should  be  restrained  and  not  suffered  to  take 
a  full  feed,  as  it  is  very  succulent  and  like  clover,  is  apt  to  induce  hoven. 

AS  A  PASTURE — As  a  pasture  grass  sorghum  has  been  highly 
commended.  The  Arkansas  Experiment  Station  issued  a  bulletin  in 
August,  1896,  in  which  it  is  stated  that  sorghum  gave  excellent  results  as 
a  hog  pasture  used  in  connection  with  clover  and  Spanish  peanuts  to  give 
a  succession  of  fresh  food.  Sheep,  hogs  and  milch  cattle  are  especially  fond 
of  it.  For  a  pasture  it  should  be  sown  very  thickly  and  it  is  a  wise  policy 
to  sow  two  or  three  fields  or  parts  of  fields  separate  from  each  other  in 
sorghum  and  pasture  them  alternately.  Sorghum  grows  so  rapidly  that 
as  soon  as  the  stock  is  taken  off  one  field  it  will,  within  a  week  be  ready 
to  pasture  again.  Tennessee  farmers  would  find  it  greatly  to  their  interest 
to  break  up  portions  of  their  stubble  fields  when  a  catch  of.  clover  has 
failed  or  been  destroyed,  and  sow  in  sorghum  for  a  late  summer  pasture. 
The  capacity  of  this  plant  to  resist  drought  makes  it  especially  valuable 
for  pastures  at  a  season  when  clover,  blue  grass  and  orchard  grass  and  all 
the  best  pasture  grasses  have  fallen  off  or  become  exhausted  in  their  graz- 
ing capacity  by  reason  of  the  summer's  drought.  I  know  of  nothing  that 
will  so  well  fill  up  the  gap  between  the  spring  pastures  and  the  fall  pas- 
tures as  sorghum  sown  upon  wheat  stubble  from  the  latter  part  of  June  to 
the  last  of  July.  Farmers  should  try  it. 

SORGHUM  FOR  THE  SILO— Dire'otor  Redding,  of  the  Georgia 
Experiment  Station,  regards  sorghum  as  a  material  for  ensilage  quite  sat- 
isfactory. He  says:  "For  the  silo  I  consider  the  three  most  valuable 
plants  in  order,  are  Indian  corn,  cowpeas  and  sorghum."  Notwith- 
standing this  favorable  estimate  of  the  value  of  sorghum  for  the  silo 
many  object  to  it  on  account  of  its  tendency  to  become  acid.  It  also 
lacks  the  nutritive  quality  of  Indian  corn  and  unless  cut  very  early  in  its 
growth  the  stalk  becomes  so  hard  that  it  is  not  eaten  with  comfort  by 
cattle.  One  advantage,  however,  of  sorghum  is  that  it  will  remain  green 
in  the  fall  for  a  much  longer  time  than  corn  and  so  a  larger  quantity  of 
it  may  be  utilized  for  making  ensilage.  When  it  is  grown  in  conjunction 
with  cowpeas  or  soy  beans  it  gives  a  much  more  nutritious  ensilage  than 
corn  taken  by  itself. 

With  all  the  short-comings  of  sorghum  it  must  be  regarded  as  one 
of  the  most  useful  and  widely  cultivated  plants  that  has  ever  been  intro- 
duced into  the  United  States.  Among  the  small  farmers  it  is  highly 
prized  for  its  syrup-making  properties.  Among  stock-breeders  it  is 
valued  because  of  the  immense  amount  of  forage  which  it  supplies  at  a 
small  cost.  It  has  the  capacity  to  resist  dry  weather  better  than  almosc 
any  other  crop.  It  may  be  used  for  more  purposes  than  almost  any 
other  crop.  It  is  very  valuable  as  a  pasturage  for  sheep,  hogs,  cattle, 
mules  and  horses.  It  makes  good  hay  for  winter  feeding.  The  seed  is 
said  to  be  worth,  for  feeding  purposes,  about  90  per  cent,  as  much  as 
corn.  The  hay  is  better  than  corn-fodder  and  the  stalk  when  properly 
cured  may  be  reckoned  among  the  best  fattening  foods  grown. 


48 


JOHNSON   GRASS — (Andropognon  sorghum    halepense.') — Meadows  and 

Pasture. 

Space  for  a  description  of  Johnson  grass  is  given  in  this  bulletin 
mainly  for  the  purpose  of  warning  Tennessee  farmers  against  it.  While 
it  makes  excellent  hay  and  furnishes  a  large  amount  of  grazing  it  is  at 
the  same  time  one  of  the  most  troublesome  weeds  that  can  be  introduced 

upon  a  farm.  If  one  wishes 
to  raise  nothing  but  hay;  if 
he  has  no  regard  for  the  rights 
of  his  neighbors;  if  he  expects 
never  again  to  grow  tillage 
crops  on  his  farm,  then  the 
wisdom  of  sowing  Johnson 
grass  may  be  commended. 
Otherwise  it  should  be  left 
•severely  alone  for  no  time  will 
completely  eradicate  it  when 
once  well  set  upon  good  land. 
It  has  a  thick  fleshy  root  stock 
that  penetrates  the  soil  in 
every  direction  and  throws  up 
a  culm  from  every  joint.  If  a 
single  piece  of  root  an  inch 
long  is  left  in  the  ground  it 
will  be  the  prolific  mother  of 
a  numerous  progeny  of  stalks 
and  roots  within  a  year.  It  is 
possessed  of  a  strange  and  ex- 
traordinary vitality.  A  barrel 
of  salt  poured  upon  a  bed  of 

it  eight  feet  square  did  not  destroy  the  roots.  Within  a  month  the  salt 
disappeared,  leaving  a  briny  surface,  but  the  invincible  roots  sent  up  an 
army  of  numerous  stalks  that  waved  their  flags  in  victory  over  the  bed 
that  was  intended  to  be  their  grave. 

The  only  possible  way  to  keep  Johnson  grass  in  subjection,  so  far  as 
the  writer  knows,  is  to  pasture  it  with  hogs  and  never  suffer  the  grass  to 
go  to  seed.  Frequent  plowing  of  the  land  and  bringing  the  roots  to 
the  surface  so  that  the  hogs  may  find  them  readily  will  assist  in  keeping  it 
down.  One  of  its  greatest  virtues  is  that  hogs  will  thrive  upon  its  succu- 
lent roots  which  they  seem  to  prefer  even  to  artichokes.  They  never  tire 
in  searching  for  them. 

SOILS — Rich,  well  drained,  calcareous  soils  and  especially  rich  allu- 
vial soils  will  grow  this  grass  most  luxuriantly,  but  it  will  thrive  on  a 
sandy  dune,  in  a  barren  field,  on  a  rocky  ledge,  wherever  it  can  find  a 
handful  of  dirt,  and  it  will  even  flourish  in  the  bottom  of  a  gully.  It 
knows  not  how  to  fail.  In  a  southern  climate  it  will  grow  on  any  spot 
and  will  resist  the  severest  droughts,  withstand  the  coldest  weather  of 
southern  winters,  and  make  a  vigorous  growth  where  but  few  other  plants 


Johnson  Grass — Andropognon  Sorghum  halepense. 


49 

will  live.  It  is  in  a  sense  the  most  self-assertive  of  all  the  grasses  and  like 
the  wild  garlic  will  propagate  itself  equally  as  well  from  the  roots  as  from 
the  seeds. 

With  all  its  bad  qualities  it  is  probably  the  most  prolific  perennial  hay 
grass  in  the  United  States.  In  the  latitude  of  Tennessee,  Northern  Ala- 
bama and  indeed  throughout  the  South,  it  may  be  mowed  three  to  four 
times  a  year  and  will  yield  at  each  mowing  from  two  to  three  tons  of 
excellent  hay  when  grown  on  rich  soil.  The  best  time  for  cutting  it  to 
make  hay  is  before  the  heads  appear.  After  the  seeds  are  formed  the 
stalks  grow  hard,  which  makes  the  hay  unfit  for  stock.  Jno.  B.  Mc- 
Ewen,  of  Williamson  county,  a  most  observant  farmer,  speaks  in  rather 
extravagant  terms  of  the  quality  of  hay  made  from  this  grass  and  de- 
clares that  it  is  the  best  hay  he  makes  on  his  farm. 

When  young,  Johnson  grass  is  very  tender  and  sweet  and  the  pith  is 
filled  with  sugary  juices.  As  a  soiling  crop  it  is  very  much  prized,  as  it 
may  be  cut  every  month  from  May  until  heavy  frosts.  Dr.  Phares,  of 
Mississippi,  says  during  a  long  drought  it  was  mowed  in  the  northeastern 
part  of  that  state  three  times  and  on  the  first  of  October  there  was  a 
growth  from  eight  to  twelve  inches  high.  Upon  this  cattle  were  turned 
and  there  remained  feeding  and  fattening  on  the  abundant,  rich,  rapidly 
growing  foliage  to  the  last  of  December. 

All  writers  on  this  grass,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  who  live  above 
the  37th  degree  of  north  latitude,  while  commending  it  highly  for  the 
fecundity  of  its  growth'  and  the  nutritious  qualities  of  its  foliage  and 
roots,  speak  of  it  as  utterly  ineradicable.  Prof.  Gulley,  of  Mississippi, 
says  in  the  quantity  and  quality  of  hay  it  stands  first  for  permanent 
meadow,  especially  if  sown  on  rich,  well  drained,  heavy  land.  Prof.  S.  M. 
Tracy,  says:  ''Johnson  grass  makes  excellent  hay  and  will  give  from 
three  to  four  cuttings  a  year.  While  thousands  of  dollars  have,  been  made 
by  its  cultivation  and  it  grows  well  on  almost  any  kind  of  soil,  it  will 
never  be  popular,  as,  when  once  planted  'it  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother,' 
and  it  is  difficult  to  grow  any  other  crop  on  the  land." 

When  l:he  roots  become  thoroughly  matted  in  the  soil  the  yield  of 
hay  decreases.  A  good  plowing  of  the  ground  so  as  to  dislocate  the 
masses  of  roots  will  start  the  grass  to  growing  again  in  all  its  tropical 
vigoT.  As  a  meadow  or  pasture  grass  it  will  retain  its  hold  upon  the 
land  and  suffer  no  inroads  whatever  by  other  grasses  or  weeds.  The  only 
situation  it  cannot  endure  is  when  sown  where  it  will  be  overflowed  and 
the  water  left  standing  upon  the  ground.  Under  such  conditions  the  roots 
will  rapidly  decay. 

The  seed  weighs  35  pounds  to  the  bushel  and  one  bushel  is  required 
for  sowing  an  acre.  It  may  also  be  propagated  by  setting  out  pieces  of 
the  roots  a  foot  apart. 

The  writer,  however,  wishes  to  emphasize  and  repeat  his  warning  to 
the  farmers  of  Tennessee:  Never  plant  Johnson  grass  with  the  expecta- 
tion of  destroying  it  for  it  is  a  "stick-fast"  and  will  survive  the  roughest 
treatment.  Many  excellent  valley  farms  in  the  central  basin  of  Middle 
Tennessee  have  had  their  value  ^reatly  decreased  by  the  presence  of  this 
unconquerable  grass. 


50 


Indian  Corn — Zea  Mays. 

BOTANICAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  INDIAN  CORN — (ZEA  MAYS,  L,.) — In  the  center  above  is 
single  stalk,  reduced  to  l-10th  its  natural  size,  showing  the  terminal  male  (the  "tassel"), 
and  in  the  axil  of  the  third  leaf  from  the  base  is  the  female  inflorescence  enveloped  in 
broad,  leafy  bracts.  At  the  base  of  the  figure  on  the  right  side  this  female  inflorescence 
is  shown  more  clearly;  the  hair-like  tuft  is  formed  b3'  the  projecting  slender  styles  (the 
"silk.")  To  the  left' at  the  base  of  the  figure  is  shown  an  "ear"  of  corn,  the  kernels 
being  the  matured  ovaries  from  which  the  styles  have  disappeared.  In  the  upper  left- 
hand  corner  of  the  figure  are  two  spikelets.  The  flowers  of  Indian  corn  are  unisexual, 
the  one  male  or  staminate,  the  other  female  or  pistillate;  both  are  born  upon  the  same 
plant,  but  each  is  in  a  separate  inflorescence. 


51 

INDIAN   CORN—  (Zea  Mays.)— (For  Forage). 

Taking  it  in  all  its  manifold  uses  there  is  no  other  product  of  agri- 
culture grown  in  America  so  important  to  man  and  to  domestic  ani- 
mals as  Indian  corn.  The  grain  is  more  extensively  used  in  the  United 
States  than  all  other  grains  combined.  The  average  annual  crop  does 
not  fall  short  of  two  thousand  million  bushels.  The  oat  crop  which 
comes  second  rarely  surpasses  800,000,000  bushels.  The  corn  crop  has 
always  been  a  leading  one  with  the  farmers  of  Tennessee  from  pioneer 
days  to  the  present.  In  fact,  in  1840,  Tennessee  grew  more  Indian  corn 
than  any  other  state  in  the  Union. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  bulletin,  however,  to  try  to  teach  Ten- 
nessee farmers  how  to  raise  corn  or  to  go  into  an  elaborate  description 
of  the  great  number  of  varieties  produced  in  the  United  States.  The 
chief  object  of  this  paper  is  to  direct  their  attention  to  the  value  of  Indian 
corn  in  the  making  of  hay  and  forage.  The  "saving  of  fodder"  was  for 
nearly  a  century  considered  one  of  the  indispensable  tasks  of  the  farmers 
of  Tennessee,  but  no  one  in  early  times  ever  thought  of  sowing  Indian 
corn  and  mowing  it  to  supply  the  place  of  fodder.  The  dairymen  of  the 
north  have,  for  many  years,  been  using  corn  so  sown  as  a  soiling  crop  for 
their  cows  during  the  dry  months  of  July  and  August  after  the  first  pas- 
tures have  dried  up  and  before  the  fall  pastures  have  become  green  with 
the  latter  rains.  A  vast  amount  of  forage  in  the  form  of  fodder  tops  and 
stalks  is  saved  in  every  part  of  the  United  States.  Even  in  Europe  corn 
forage  is  growing  to  be  very  popular,  and  the  grain  is  now  used  by  the 
inhabitants  of  many  foreign  states  who  knew  nothing  of  it  thirty  years 
ago. 

Mr.  Mechi.  who  for  a  long  time  enjoyed  the  distinction  of  being  one 
of  the  best  farmers  in  England,  placed  a  very  high  estimate  upon  corn 
fodder  not  only  in'  the  feeding  of  sheep  and  cattle,  but  for  the  production 
of  milk  and  butter.  He  estimated  that  one  ton  of  such  fodder  is  equal 
to  forty  bushels  of  grain. 

There  is  a  class  of  small  farmers  and  tenants  in  the  State  of  Tennes- 
see who  do  not  own  the  land  which  they  cultivate.  These  farmers  must 
raise  some  kind  of  hay,  or  as  they  call  it  "roughness"  with  which  to  feed 
their  work  stock.  This  can  be  easily  done  by  sowing,  the  first  of  May 
upon  well  prepared  land,  a  few  acres  in  corn  at  the  rate  of  a  bushel  and  a 
half  to  the  acre.  It  should  be  covered  with  a  harrow.  The  corn  fodder 
will  mature  in  about  90  days,  that  is  to  say,  it  will  arrive  at  that  stage 
when  it  should  be  cut,  which  will  be  about  the  time  the  tassels  and  silks 
are  well  developed.  Cut  at  this  stage,  it  will  make  from  40  to  50  tons 
of  green  forage  on  an  acre  of  fertile  land  and  from  three  to  four  tons  of 
dry  forage.  It  makes  also  an  excellent  soiling  crop  for  milch  cows. 

There  is  some  difficulty  in  curing  corn-fodder  properly,  as  it  is  ex- 
tremely succulent.  It  must  be  cut  in  good  weather  and  spread  evenly  on 
the  land  so  as  to  receive  as  much  sun  as  possible.  It  may  then  be  put  up 
in  shocks  like  hay,  after  it  has  been  sufficiently  dry  to  escape  the  danger 
of  fermentation.  It  may  be  managed  very  much  in  the  same  manner  as 
sorghum.  Corn  fodder,  green,  is  also  an  excellent  material  for  ensilage, 
especially  when  grown  with  cowpeas,  oats  and  soy  beans. 


There  is  a  small  variety  of  corn  known  as  Dixie  corn,  the  ears  of 
which  are  not  larger  than  the  fingers.  This  corn  usually  yields  from  six 
to  eight  and  even  as  high  as  fifteen  ears  to  the  stalk.  The  grains  are  very 
small  and  the  corn  matures  quickly.  If  this  corn  should  be  sown  upon 
rich  land  and  cut  at  the  time  the  grains  are  in  the  dough  state,  it  would 
make  a  mass  of  forage  highly  nutritious  and  would  serve  the  purpose  ot 
both  grain  and  hay.  The  stalks  are  so  small  that  they  may  be  cut  with 
a  reaper  or  mower  and  put  up  in  the  same  way  as  the  corn  shocks  of 
ordinary  corn  when  cut  in  the  fall.  The  sowing  and  saving  of  this  Dixie 
corn  for  forage  deserve  the  consideration  of  Tennessee  farmers.  Stubble 
land  could  be  employed  for  the  growing  of  this  crop. 

CRAB  GRASS— (Panicum  sanguinale.}—(^y  and  Pasture.) 
This  is  a  hardy  annual  grass,  attractive  because  of  its  digitate  form 
of  inflorescence.  It  is  indigenous  to  the  soil  and  troublesome  in  the  cul- 
tivation of  other  crops  when  clover  or  peas  have  not  been  used  in  the 
systems  of  rotation.  In  the  early  settlement  of  Tennessee  it  was  far  more 
abundant  in  the  cultivated  fields  than  at  present.  This  grass  comes  up 

spontaneously.  It  grows  with 
the  greatest  luxuriance  upon 
stubble  fields  and  in  corn- 
fields in  low  situations.  It 
makes  an  excellent  pasture 
from  June  until  October  in 
the  latitude  of  Tennessee  and 
even  to  a  later  date  when 
heavy  frosts  do  not  occur.  Its 
most  intimate  associate  is 
green  foxtail  (Setaria  viridis), 
which  is  totally  worthless 
when  it  begins  to  seed.  Crab- 
grass  is  never  sown.  When 
cultivation  ceases  it  takes  pos- 
session of  the  land.  It  is 
justly  regarded  as  an  excellent 
pasture  grass  but  it  forms  no 
sward.  It  sends  out  numerous 
stems,  however,  branching  at 

Crab  Grass — Panicum  sanguinale. 

2.  Upper  leaf  and  inflorescence.    3.  Portion  of 

one  of  the  racemes.    5.  Spikelet,  front 

view.     H.  Spikelet,  side  view. 

comes  on  at  a  time  when  northern  farmers  are  compelled  to  resort  to 
soiling  crops  in  order  to  supply  green  food  to  their  milch  cows.  A  dairy- 
man from  Ohio  said  to  the  writer  upon  seeing  a  field  of  crab  grass  grow- 
ing to  the  height  of  three  feet,  that  it  was  the  most  valuable  summer 
grass  for  the  dairy  he  had  ever  seen.  It  grows  very  rank  after  oats 
and,  cut  when  in  flower,  often  yields  more  forage  than  the  oat  crop  that 
precedes  it.  Sometimes  as  much  as  two  tons  of  crab  grass  hay  to  the 
acre  have  been  cut  within  forty  days  after  the  oat  crop  has  been  re- 


the  base.  Crab  grass  serves  a 
useful  purpose  in  stock  hus- 
bandry all  over  the  south.  It 


53 


moved.  The  hay  is  sweet  but  light,  and  stock  seem  to  prefer  it  to  any 
other  when  cut  early  before  the  seeds  harden.  It  will  not  shed  rain  very 
well  and  it  should  be  cut  during  a  dry  spell.  It  cures  rapidly  and  unless 
very  rank  it  may  be  hauled  in  and  stored  away  the  next  day  after  it  is 
mowed.  It  may  be  stacked  in  the  open  fields  but  the  stacks  must  be 
capped  with  herd's  grass  or  timothy  hay.  The  hay  is  sometimes  gath- 
ered by  pulling  it  up  from  between  the  corn  rows.  This  is  a  tedious  task 
but  not  more  so  than  the  pulling  of  fodder.  Crab  grass  furnishes  more 
hay  for  home  use  in  the  Gulf  states  than  any  other  grass.  It  is  usually 
cut  in  August  or  September,  and  even  as  late  as  October. 

Mr.  Sinclair  says  that  the  clean  seed,  when  boiled  in  milk,  makes  a 
dish  resembling  sago.  It  has  been  used  as  a  substitute  for  sago  in  Ger- 
many, and  is  really  cultivated  for  that  purpose  in  some  districts. 

BLUE     GRASS— JUNE     GRASS— (Poa  pratensis.  )— (Pasture    Grass.) 

This  is  a  perennial  grass  and  is  well  styled  the  king  of  all  the  pasture 

grasses.     It  is  very  choice,  however,  in  the  selection  of  soils  and  situation. 


Kentucky  Blue  Grass — Poa  pratensis. 
2.  Panicle.    3.  Upper  leaf .    4.  Spikelet. 
5.  Empty  glumes. 


Spikelet  of  Blue  Grass, 
showing  seed. 


Wherever  it  plants  itself  the  land  advances  rapidly  in  price  and  it  becomes 
the  breeder's  ideal  home.  Blue  grass  indeed  has  no  rival  within  the  limits 
of  its  growth.  All  other  grasses  that  make  inroads  upon  its  territory  are 
regarded  as  intruders.  Whoever  has  blue  grass  is  possessed  of  the  key 
to  fortune.  Stock  breeders  depending  upon  other  grasses  may  do  well. 
The  stock  breeder  in  the  blue  grass  region  can  hardly  fail  to  do  well. 

SOILS — The  best  blue  grass  soils  in  Tennessee  and  Kentucky  are 
the  calcareous  loams  of  the  Trenton  formation.  In  Tennessee  these  soils 
prevail  in  the  central  basin.  There  are  parts  of  East  Tennessee,  where 
the  Trenton  limestone  abounds,  that  will  also  grow  blue  grass  well. 


54 

Even  upon  some  of  the  foot  hills  of  the  mountains,  as  well  as  in  the  val- 
leys, thick  blue  grass  sod  is  often  met  with.  Among  the  limestone  hog- 
back ridges  in  that  region,  and  especially  in  Southwestern  Virginia,  are 
found  some  of  the  best,  blue  grass  pastures  of  the  South.  Blue  grass 
may  be  successfully  grown  upon  the  more  fertile  lands  of  the  highland 
rim,  particularly  in  those  localities  where  the  St.  Louis  limestone  abounds. 
A  singular  fact  in  connection  with  the  heavy  clay  soils  of  Montgomery, 
Robertson  and  Stewart  counties  deserves  mention.  When  the  lands  are 
first  opened  to  cultivation;  the  soils  seem  adapted  to  the  growth  of  blue 
grass.  Tramping  however,  soon  destroys  it.  After  being  in  cultivation 
for  a  few  years  so  as  to  destroy  a  large  part  of  the  original  humus,  it 
seems  to  reach  a  condition,  a  second  time,  favorable  for  the  growth  of 
blue  grass.  All  old  fields  thrown  out  of  cultivation  in  these  counties 
soon  show  considerable  areas  covered  with  blue  grass.  In  the  digging  of 
an  ice  house  many  years  ago  on  the  writer's  farm,  the  red  clay  was 
thrown  out  and  a  mound  made  of  it  around  the  superstructure.  Blue 
grass  after  a  few  years  appeared  and  is  now  growing  in  vigor  upon  this 
clay.  The  presence  of  locust  and  walnut  trees  always  induces  a  growth 
of  blue  grass  on  any  soil  clear  of  underbrush.  West  Tennessee  has  some 
blue  grass  lands  in  the  tier  of  northern  counties  where  limy  concretions 
abound  in  the  soils.  It  is  also  successfully  grown  in  the  yards  in  many 
other  parts  of  that  division  of  the  state. 

Good  blue  grass  pastures,  however,  are  rare  in  Tennessee  outside  of 
the  central  basin.  The  best  soil  for  its  growth  is  strongly  impregnated 
with  the  carbonate  and  phosphate  of  lime,  potash,  alumina,  ferric  oxides 
as  indicated  by  the  reddish  color  of  the  soil,  all  associated  with  a  large 
content  of  humus.  Commingled  with  the  soil  are  small  angular  pieces 
of  limestone  gravel  to  the  extent  of  twelve  or  fifteen  per  cent.  The 
alumina  in  such  soils  varies  from  15  to  30  per  cent.,  though  the  subsoil  is 
often  porous.  Blue  grass  sown  on  such  soils  is  benefited  by  being  tramped 
The  foundation  of  all  these  soils  is  a  soft  calcareous  limestone  belonging 
to  the  Trenton  period. 

Blue  grass  is  not  so  highly  prized  for  pastures  in  England  as  it  is  in 
the  United  States.  Doubtless  its  nutritious  qualities  are  there  impaired 
by  the  extreme  humidity  of  the  climate,  notwithstanding  Mr.  Sole,  of 
England,  calls  it  "the  most  noble  of  all  the  grasses  for  agriculture."  It 
produces  nearly  all  its  flowery  stems  at  once  and  when  the  seed  ripens 
and  the  stalks  decay  a  wealth  of  blades  spring  up  and  falls  over  in  great 
folds  which  furnishes  an  immense  amount  of  grazing.  Its  aftermath  is 
more  valuable  than  its  first  growth.  Blue  grass  is  rarely  injured  by  cold 
weather,  by  close  grazing  or  by  the  tramping  of  stock.  It  bears  a 
drought  heroically.  Though  it  may  look  brown  and  sere  after  a  long 
dry  summer,  the  first  autumnal  rains  will  start  it  afresh  and  in  a  few 
days  its  beautiful  leaves  will  clothe  the  earth  with  a  rich  mantle  of 
verdure. 

Blue  grass  requires  three  or  four  years  to  become  well  established.  It 
should  be  grazed  but  lightly  during  this  period.  After  it  has  grown  into 
a  good  thick  sod  close  grazing  will  not  hurt  it.  When  eaten  down  to 
the  ground  in  favorable  weather  it  will  reproduce  itself  in  a  few  days. 


55 

The  early  spring  growth,  by  its  succulence,  greatly  increases  the  flow  of 
milk  but  it  does  not  add  materially  to  its  richness.  As  the  summer  ad- 
vances the  quality  of  the  milk  grows  richer  and  its  capacity  for  butter- 
making  increases. 

HOW  AND  WHEN  TO  SOW  IT— If  a  wooded  lot  has  been  selected 
for  seeding  to  blue  grass,  all  leaves  and  trash  and  underbrush  should  be 
removed.  The  seed- must  come  in  contact  with  the  soil.  Sown  on  a  bed 
of  leaves  the  seed  will  germinate  during  moist  weather  but  under  such 
conditions  the  rootlets  will  soon  wither  and  die.  The  timber  trees 
should  be  thinne'd  out  if  standing  very  thickly  upon  the  land.  At  least 
one-half  or  two-thirds  of  the  area  should  have  unobstructed  sunshine 
during  a  portion  of  the  day.  The  tallest  and  best  timber  trees  should  be 
left  and  the  bushy  trees  should  be  removed.  Blue  grass  does  better  when 
subjected  to  the  cool  of  the  shade  during  a  part  of  the  day. 

So  many  seasons  have  been  recommended  as  the  best  time  for  sowing 
blue  grass  that  it  may  be  said  each  one,  under  favorable  conditions,  is  a 
good  one.  One  Kentucky  farmer  says:  "Any  time  in  the  winter,  when 
snow  is  on  the  ground,  sow  broadcast  from  three  to  four  quarts  of  clean 
seed  to  the  acre.  WTith  the  spring  the  seeds  germinate  and  the  sprigs  of 
grass  are  then  very  fine  and  delicate.  No  stock  should  be  allowed  for  the 
first  year,  nor  until  the  grass  seeds  in  June  for  the  first  time,  which  will 
be  in  the  second  or  third  year.  The  best  plan  is  to  turn  on  your  stock 
when  the  seeds  ripen.  Graze  off  your  grass,  then  allow  the  fall  growth, 
and  graze  all  winter,  taking  care  never  to  feed  the  grass  too  closely  at 
any  time." 

Another  authority  says:  ''Follow  nature  and  obey  her  dictates.  The 
seeds  ripen  in  June  and  are  scattered  by  the  winds  and  rains  as  soon  as 
ripe  and  therefore,  sow  your  seeds  as  soon  as  they  can  be  gathered." 

This  plan  might  be  a  proper  one  in  a  colder  or  moister  climate  than 
that  of  Tennessee  but  here  it  would  result  in  the  grass  being  often  killed 
by  the  droughts  that  come  almost  invariably  in  the  latter  part  of 
summer.  Many  sow  on  winter  snows,  which  is  a  very  good  method,  but 
care  should  be  observed  to  have  the  ground  free  from  leaves  before  the 
snow  falls. 

There  are  others  who  sow  in  the  latter  part  of  February  or  first  of 
March.  This  season  does  as  well  as  any  provided  the  grass  gets  sufficient 
hold  to  resist  the  withering  effects  of  the  summer's  drought.  The  main 
point  is  to  get  the  grass  large  enough  to  resist  successfully  the  frosts  of 
winter  or  the  droughts  of  summer.  It  can  endure  frost  better  than  heat 
and  this  fact  justifies  the  statement  that  the  most  approved  time  of  sowing 
is  in  the  latter  part  of  August  or  first  of  September.  If  sown  at  that  time 
the  autumnal  rains  will  cause  the  seed  to  germinate  quickly  and  the  grass 
to  grow  rapidly.  At  this  season  there  is  comparatively  little  trash  on  the 
ground,  the  leaves  having  not  yet  -fallen.  The  ground  being  prepared 
the  seed  is  sown  broadcast,  at  the  rate  of  one  bushel  of  seed  in  the  chaff 
per  acre.  The  sower  should  be  followed  with  a  harrow,  or  if  the  ground 
is  very  loose  with  a  stiff  brush  and  roller.  This  will  give  the  seed  a 
sufficient  covering.  Blue  grass  seeds  will  vegetate  best  when  put  at  a 
depth  of  one-quarter  of  an  inch.  It  may  be  supposed  that,  with  no  more 


56 

covering  than  will  be  given  by  a  harrow  or  brush,  a  great  many  seeds 
will  be  left  uncovered.  This  is  true  but  in  one  pound  of  blue  grass  seed 
(clean  seed)  there  are  3,888,000  seeds.  By  a  computation  every  square 
inch  of  surface  will  contain  from  nine  to  ten  seeds.  With  this  amount  on 
the  surface,  one  scarcely  need  fear  a  stand,  when  if  one  or  two  take  root 
there  will  be  a  close  turf  in  a  year  upon  good  soils. 

Dr.  F.  H.  Gordon,  of  Smith  county,  who  during  his  life  paid  more 
attention  to  the  growing  of  blue  grass  than  any  one  else  in  the  State, 
adopted  a  plan  of  management  that  has  been  repeatedly  tested,  with  uni- 
form success.  It  was  this: 

He  sowed,  either  in  the  autumn  or  spring  months  indiscriminately,  as 
suited  his  convenience.  He  usually  sowed  with  rye,  wheat  or  barley  if 
sown  in  an  open  field,  but  if  in  a  woods  lot,  the  blue  grass  was  sown  only 
with  rye,  or  after  a  crop  of  millet.  The  soil  was  cleared  of  all  trash  and 
brush,  and  broken  up  as  well  as  the  nature  of  the  land  would  permit. 
The  grain  was  first  sown,  the  land  harrowed  and  if  possible  rolled.  After 
this,  the  grass  seed  was  sown  over  the  ground  and  brushed  lightly.  Cat- 
tle, horses  and  sheep  were  then  turned  in,  as  many  as  could  be  secured. 
If  there  were  not  enough  on  his  place  he  borrowed  his  neighbor's  stock, 
and  let  them  run  on  the  land  until  it  was  well  packed  all  over  the  surface. 
If  sown  after  millet  (and  that  is  greatly  recommended,  as  millet  destroys, 
more  effectively  than  anything  else,  all  weeds)  the  land  should  be  har- 
rowed .about  the  first  of  September  thoroughly,  the  seed  sown  and  brushed 
in.  After  this  the  stock  should  be  turned  on  the  land.  If  it  is  desired  to 
sow  the  grass  in  the  spring,  during  the  latter  part  of  February  or  early  in 
March,  if  not  practicable  sooner,  the  grain  field  should  be  harrowed,  the 
ground  having  been  well  prepared  in  the  fall.  The  seed  is  sown  and  stock 
turned  on  the  wheat,  rye  or  barley  as  the  case  may  be.  Oat  land  may  be 
sown  in  the  same  way.  The  treading  of  the  stock  packs  in  the  seeds  and 
prevents  the  grass  from  drying  up  in  summer  or  freezing  out  in  winter; 
Dr.  Gordon  considered  an  open,  loose  porous  surface,  extremely  unfavor- 
able to  the  safety  of  the  young  grass.  When  packed  as  directed,  the 
grass  will  quickly  spring  up  and  get  a  firm  hold,  and  the  loose  condition 
of  the  subsoil  will  favor  the  transmission  of  the  roots  to  a  good  depth. 

Dr.  Gordon  would  not  permit  the  grass  to  seed  at  all.  His  great 
success  in  this  branch  of  agriculture  gives  weight  to  his  authority.  Others, 
who  have  been  successful  in  managing  blue  grass  think  no  stock  should 
go  on  it  for  two  years,  or  at  least  until  after  the  first  seeding,  which  will 
take  place  in  June  of  the  second  year.  Some  of  the  best  blue  grass  lots 
in  Middle  Tennessee  have  been  started  by  following  either  of  the  methods 
given  above.  The  ground  should  not  be  well  broken  up.  The  surface 
should  be  as  firmly  packed  as  possible  in  order  to  secure  a  perfect  stand 
and  to  form  a  perfect  turf.  When  the  surface  is  loose,  the  grass  dries  up 
in  summer  and  freezes  out  in  winter.  With  favorable  weather,  seed 
sown  in  the  spring  on  a  crop  of  oats  will  do  as  well  as  fall  sowing.  What 
is  meant  by  favorable  weather,  is  that  no  unusual  dry  weather  supervenes. 
But  the  risk  of  meeting  with  unfavorable  weather  in  spring  sowing  is 
great,  and  for  this  reason  fall  sowing  is  preferred.  The  sowing  should 
take  place  as  early  in  the  fall  as  the  weather  will  permit,  or  indeed  in  the 


57 

latter  part  of  summer,  if  there  is  a  proper  degree  of  moisture  in  the  soil. 
Some  sow  a  limited  amount  of  seed  daily  and  over  the  same  surface 
sprinkle  shelled  corn  and  then  turn  on  their  hogs.  The  hogs  root  in 
search  of  the  corn  and  thus  plant  the  seed,  doing  the  work  of  plow  and 
harrow.  This,  to  say  the  least,  is  a  slovenly  way,  and  though  possibly 
insuring  a  good  stand,  the  ground  is  made  so  rough  it  can  never  make  a 
beautiful  pastuje  until  worn  down. 

If  the  land  is  loose  as  some  soils  are,  it  will  answer  a  very  good  pur- 
pose to  simply  scratch  the  surface  well  with  a  sharp  toothed  harrow,  and 
this  is  especially  to  be  commended  where  there  is  a  large  number  of  roots 
in  the  ground. 

AFTER  TREATMENT— A  blue  grass  pasture  must  not  be  pastured 
to  death.  It  will  stand  almost  unlimited  grazing,  but  there  is  a  point 
beyond  which  grazing  will  cease  to  be  profitable.  That  limit  should  never 
be  passed.  The  better  method  is  to  have  the  field  divided  into  lots  and 
allow  the  stock  to  run  on  one  lot  until  it  is  cropped  down,  and  then  the 
stock  should  be  removed.  No  good  purpose  is  served  in  letting  stock 
run  on  a  lot  in  which  there  is  no  grass.  It  will  not  only  do  the  stock 
no  good,  but  by  constant  tramping,  the  grass  will  be  unable  to  throw  up 
any  foliage.  Under  such  treatment  the  roots  will  frequently  perish. 
Time  should  be  given  for  the  grass  to  recuperate  by  chang- 
ing the  stock  from  one  pasture  to  another,  and  never  permitting  it  to  be 
overstocked.  Grass  that  will  keep  ten  oxen  in  growing  order,  will  fatten 
five  oxen  quickly.  Stock  of  all  kinds  are  constant  feeders  and  there 
should  always  be  forage  enough  to  enable  them  to  get  plenty  to  eat  with- 
out the  labor  of  hunting  for  it. 

There  is  much  variety  of  opinion  as  to  the  amount  of  stock  that  ought 
to  be  put  on  an  acre.  This  arises  from  the  difference  in  the  capacity  of 
the  land  to  produce  grass,  the  character  of  the  season  and  the  nature  of 
the  soil.  Porous  soils  will  stand  much  heavier  grazing  than  compact 
soils.  It  is  better  to  err  on  the  safe  side  and  it  is  wiser  to  put  on  too 
few  than  too  many  cattle.  If  stock  are  fattened  quickly,  they  are  more 
remunerative  than  when  fattened  slowly.  Ordinarily  two  acres  of  good 
grass  are  sufficient  for  one  three  year  old  ox  and  what  will  fatten  one  ox 
of  that  age,  will  fatten  ten  head  of  sheep.  Some  think  that  blue  grass 
should  be  allowed  to  go  to  seed  once  or  twice  or  until  the  ground  is  well 
set  or  turfed  over  and  then  never  again.  It  is  a  grass  that  propagates 
itself  mainly  by  its  creeping  roots  or  rhizomes  after  the  first  sowing,  and 
it  is  the  disposition  of  all  plants  and  animals  to  lose  vitality  in  the  process 
of  reproduction.  It  lies  dormant  for  a  time  after  a  full  crop  of  seed.  It 
is  to  be  doubted  if  blue  grass  should  ever  be  allowed  to  go  to  seed  after 
the  first  time. 

The  grass  sometimes  becomes  so  dry  that  it  will  burn.  Stock  will, 
however,  eat  it,  ravenously,  in  that  condition.  The  grass  having  dried 
full  of  nourishing  juices,  it  is  equal  to  the  best  of  hay,  and  stock  will  fatten 
upon  it,  unless  the  dried  grass  has  been  drenched  with  rain. 

The  fall  growth  of  some  lots  should  be  kept  untouched  by  stock  so 
as  to  have  a  good  winter  pasture.  The  grass  will  grow  high  enough  to 
fall  over  and  protect  the  surface  foliage.  In  this  condition  stock  will 


59 

keep  up  their  flesh  when  permitted  to  run  on  it  during  the  winter  months 
without  other  food.  When  snow  falls,  however,  cattle  will  have  to  be 
fed,  but  horses,  mules  and  sheep  will  paw  off  the  snow,  unless  it  is  too 
deep  and  get  at  the  grass.  It  is  the  first  grass  that  puts  forth  its  leaves 
in  the  spring.  Good  fat  lambs  can  be  sent  into  the  market  earlier  than 
from  any  other  grass.  It  makes  milk  rich  in  butter,  and  gives  the  latter 
a  fine  golden  color  without  injuring  its  taste,  or,  like  clover,  imparting  its 
peculiar  flavor  to  it. 

While  blue  grass  is  the  most  valuable  of  all  grasses  for  those  portions 
of  Tennessee  where  the  soils  are  adapted  to  its  growth  it  is  too  true  that 
many  farmers  living  in  those  sections  show  a  total  indifference  concern- 
ing its  cultivation.  A  farm  well  set  in  blue  grass  will  yield  a  return  per 
acre  of  from  $10  to  $15  for  grazing  purposes  alone.  With  such  profits 
from  its  growth  it  would  seem  that  every  farmer  in  the  state  would 
hasten  to  sow  it.  Many  do  not  because  they  are  unacquainted  with  the 
best  system  for  its  management.  In  its  nutritive  elements  it  ranks  very 
high.  Recent  tests  show  that  while  timothy  contains  4*/j  per  cent,  of 
albuminoids;  orchard,  G,1-^  per  cent.,  red  top,  G%  per  cent.,  blue  grass 
contains  8  per  cent.  These  results  vary  with  grasses  grown  on  different 
soils,  time  of  harvesting  and  methods  adopted  in  curing. 

A  standard  bushel  of  seed  weighs  14  pounds. 

It  is  the  very  best  grass  grown  for  lawns  and  yards.  A  good  sod  of 
it  with  proper  care  will  last  for  centuries.  It  will  withstand,  under  favor- 
able conditions,  all  the  vicissitudes  of  the  weather,  the  heat  of  summer, 
the  cold  of  winter,  parching  droughts  and  sweeping  floods. 

It  forms  the  greatest  attraction  of  a  country  home.  It  is  the  ground- 
work of  all  natural  and  artificial  decorations.  Without  this  grass  the 
shade  is  not  half  so  grateful  nor  the  flowers  half  so  beautiful.  For  the 
embellishment  of  yards  it  is  the  best  of  all  grasses.  Wherever  blue  grass 
flourishes  homes  are  more  inviting  and  beautiful;  lands  are  more  valuable 
and  in  greater  demand;  the  people  are  more  intelligent  and  cultivated, 
have  a  nobler  bearing  and  a  higher  sense  of  honor,  become  more  highly 
educated;  domestic  animals  are  better  bred  and  of  higher  types,  both  for 
beauty  of  form  and  for  profitable  marketing.  In  blue  grass  regions  there 
is  more  wealth,  greater  taste,  more  real  contentment,  a  larger  hospitality, 
more  ease  and  luxury,  better  society  and  fewer  paupers,  less  worry,  less 
enervating  labor,  more  charming  surroundings  and  happier  families.. 

Blue  grass  is  nature's  sweetest  smile;  it  is  God's  benediction;  it  helps 
to  support  us  in  life;  it  cheers  us  on  our  way  by  its  freshness  and  beauty 
and  it  covers  our  last  resting  place  with  its  perennial  mantle  of  green,  at 
once  the  emblem  of  life,  of  resurrection  and  of  immortality. 


60 


English  or  Canada  Blue  Grass — Poa  Compressa. 

3.  Panicle.    4.  Upper  leaf.    5.  Spikelet.   6.  Empty 
glumes.    7.  Floral  glume  seen  from  the  side. 


ENGLISH  BLUE  GRASS  OR  CANADA  BLUE  GRASS. 
(Poa  compressa.} — (Grazing  and  Hay.) 

In  many  of  its  features 
this  grass  resembles  the  Ken- 
tucky blue  grass,  but  it  has  a 
more  creeping  habit,  narrower 
panicles  and  flattened  stems. 
The  leaves  have  a  deep  bluish 
tint  and  it  deserves  the  name 
of  blue  grass  more  than  the 
blue  grass  does. 

This  grass  does  not  re- 
quire for  its  growth  such  fer- 
tile soils  of  calcareous  origin 
as  the  Poa  pratensis  or  blue 
grass.  It  is  more  hardy.  It 
will  thrive  upon  dry,  sandy, 
thin  soils.  It  flowers  later  than 
blue  grass  proper  but  its 
blades  appear  very  early. 
Stock  are  very  fond  of  it  and 
it  is  rich  in  nutritive  matter 
but  the  amount  of  its  foliage 
is  not  great.  Gould  says: 
"Cows  that  feed  upon  it  both  in  pasture  and  in  hay,  give  more  milk  and 
keep  in  better  condition  than  when  fed  on  any  other  grass.  Horses  fed 
on  this  hay  will  do  as  well  as  when  fed  on  timothy  hay  and  oats  combined. 
Sheep  fatten  astonishingly  when  fed  upon  it."  This  is  high  commenda- 
tion but  this  commendation  is  more  applicable  to  this  grass  when  grown 
upon  the  soils  and  in  the  climate  of  New  York  than  when  grown  in  Ten- 
nessee. But  little  of  it  is  ever  seen  in  Tennessee,  except  among  the 
mountains  of  East  Tennessee.  It  is  known  in  some  sections  as  the  "blue 
grass  of  the  North."  It  is  rarely  sown  in  Tennessee.  The  price  of 
the  seed  is  quoted  at  $14  per  100  pounds  or  $2  per  bushel.  It  is  easily 
distinguished  from  blue  grass  by  its  compressed  stems,  its  lower  habit  of 
growth,  the  want  of  fuzziness  on  its  seed,  its  smaller  panicles  and  by  its 
intense  bluish  color.  It  deserves  to  be  tried  in  Tennessee  upon  those 
soils  where  blue  grass  will  not  grow.  Many  farms  in  the  more  sandy 
regions  of  the  state  would  probably  increase  their  grazing  capacity  by  the 
introduction  of  this  grass,  as  it  will  withstand  drought  better  than  blue 
grass.  It  withstands  colcl  as  well.  On  good  soils  it  will  grow  to  the 
height  of  two  feet  and  may  be  mowed  for  hay,  of  which  it  will  make  a 
yield  of  from  one  ton  to  one  and  a  half  tons  per  acre.  The  grass  is  said 
to  lose  less  in  drying  than  any  other  economic  grass. 

ROUGH  MEADOW  GRASS—  (Poa  trivialis.}— (Pastures.) 
This  grass  is  a  perennial  .and  is  known  in  Lombardy  as  the  queen  of 
forage  plants  (La  regina  dell  'erbe.)     It  is  closely  related  to  blue  grass 
but  it  has  no  conspicuous  rootstocks  and  has  rough  stems  and  sheaths: 


61 

hence  its  name.  It  is  said  to  be  an  excellent  grass  on  good,  moist,  loamy 
soils,  but  it  is  not  adapted  to  sandy  or  dry  soils.  It  multiplies  itself 
greatly  by  seed  and  does  not  throw  out  rhizomes  and  thicken  by  means 
of  its  roots.  It  forms  a  good  bottom  grass  in  pastures. 

In  England  it  is  used  for  making  hay  as  well  as  for  grazing  and  is 
said  to  make  more  hay  than  rye  grass.  The  hay  is  very  sweet  and 
nutritious  and  the  partiality  which  horses,  cattle  and  sheep  show  for  it  is 
a  high  recommendation.  It  will  probably  be  a  good  grass  for  the  moun- 
tains in  the  extreme  eastern  portion  of  Tennessee  as  it  delights  in  a  moist 
climate  and  sheltered  situations. 

This  grass  is  best  for  a  mixture  and  should  be  sown  with  Kentucky 
blue  grass  and  orchard  grass.  It  finds  its  most  congenial  situation  in 
woodland  pastures  and  on  the  banks  of  streams.  In  the  climate  of  Ten- 
nessee it  is  totally  unfit  for  hay-making,  as  the  exposure  of  its  roots  to 
the  sunshine  destroys  it  at  once.  The  seed  weighs  15  pounds  to  the 
bushel  and  is  free  from  fuzz.  Half  a  bushel  per  acre  is  ample  when  sown 
with  other  grasses. 


TEXAS  BLUE  GRASS—  (Poa  arachnif  era.)— 

This  grass,  as  its  name  would  indicate,  is  a  native  of  Texas,  but  it 
is  now  largely  distributed  throughout  the  Southern  States.  It  is  a  hardy 
perennial  and  grows  with  great  vigor.  It  has  long  leaves,  creeping  root- 
stocks  and  narrow  but  densely  flowered  panicles.  It  forms  a  thick  turf 
and  is  well  suited  for  making  permanent  pastures.  It  may  be  propagated 
by  the  roots  or  seed.  The  latter  is  so  woolly  that  it  is  difficult  to  sow. 
The  seed  also  sells  very  high,  being  quoteu  at  $3  per  pound  or  $42  per 
bushel.  In  rows  two  feet  apart  the  roots  may  be  planted  one  foot  in  the 
rows  with  a  certainty  of  the  early  thickening  of  the  grass  by  its  creeping 
rootstocks.  The  roots  may  be  depended  upon  much  more  surely  than 
the  seed  for  getting  a  stand. 

Texas  blue  grass  will  grow  faster  and  to  greater  height  than  Ken- 
tucky blue  grass.  It  is  one  of  the  very  best  pasture  grasses  for  the  ex- 
treme south  and  it  remains  green  throughout  the  year,  even  in  as  high 
a  latitude  as  Tennessee.  It  grows  during  the  winter  months,  and  blooms 
the  latter  part  of  April  or  the  first  of  May.  It  will  stand  more  heat  and 
will  resist  a  drought  better  than  blue  grass,  while  its  capacity  for  grazing 
is  not  surpassed  by  any  other  southern  grass.  Any  good  fertile  soils  and 
especially  calcareous  loams  will  grow  this  grass  in  rank  luxuriance  and 
beauty.  It  should  take  the  place  of  Kentucky  blue  grass  in  all  soils  ex- 
cept those  especially  adapted  to  the  growth  of  the  latter,  but  Kentucky 
blue  grass  well  set  will  endure  longer  than  any  other  grass.  The  rich 
soils  of  East  Tennessee  appertaining  to  the  small  valleys  are  well  adapted 
to  the  growth  of  Texas  blue  grass,  as  are  the  calcareous  soils  of  the  cen- 
tral basin  and  of  the  highland  rim.  The  loess  formation  of  West  Ten- 
nessee supplies  soils  that  will  grow  this  grass  to  perfection.  Having  a 
southern  habitat  and  being  of  southern  origin,  it  will  not  endure  severe 
freezes. 


Texas  Blue  Grass — Poa  arachnifera . 
a.  Spikelet.    b.  Flowering  glume. 


(58 


SWEET  VERNAL  GRASS — (Anthoxanthum  odoratum.} — (Pastures.) 

This  is  a  perennial  pasture  grass  and  is  only  valuable  because  it  is  one 
of  the  first  to  shoot  up  its  green  leaves  in  the  spring  and  one  of  the  last 
to  disappear  in  cold  weather.  It  is  almost  worthless  when  sown  alone  but 


Sweet  Vernal  Grass — Anthoxanthum  odoratum. 

it  imparts  to  the  pastures,  or  to  hay  cut  from  such  pastures,  an  agreeable 
fragrance.  It  scarcely  deserves  notice,  as  its  foliage  when  green  is  .bitter 
to  the  taste. 

The  seed  weighs  10  pounds  to  the  bushel.     A  few  pounds  of  seed  as  a 
mixture  sown  on  an  acre  will  not  be  objectionable  in  a  pasture. 

YELLOW  OAT  GRASS— (  Trisetum  flavescens. )— ( Pastures. ) 

This  grass  has  recently  been  introduced  from  Europe  where  it  is 
greatly  prized  as  a  mixture  for  permanent  pastures.  It  may  be  grown 
on  every  variety  of  soil  but  it  seems  to  prefer  in  this  country  mountain 
slopes  having  fairly  good  soils.  It  is  a  slender,  loosely  tufted  perennial 
with  fibrous  roots,  and  grows  to  the  height  of  about  two  feet. 

In  England  its  natural  habitats  are  dry  pastures,  heaths,  rocky  places 
and  chalk  meadows.  Sheep  and  cattle  relish  the  early  foliage.  The  high- 
est yield  recorded  in  this  country  was  when  grown  on  clayey  loam  like 
much  of  the  valley  land  of  East  Tennessee  and  of  the  highland  rim. 

Prof.  Beal  thinks  it  promises  little  for  this  country. 

Prof.  F.  Lamson-Scribner  thinks  it  has  some  agricultural  value. 
But  for  the  misleading  name  of  oat  grass  it  might  be  passed  over  without 
mention. 

BERMUDA  GRASS—  (Cynodon  Dadylon.}—  Pasture  and  Meadow.) 

Bermuda  grass  is  of  little  or  no  value  when  grown  above  the  37th 
degree  of  north  latitude.  It  is  the  child  of  the  sun  and  luxuriates  in  a 
tropical  or  semi-tropical  climate.  It  cannot  stand  the  rigorous  winters  of 


64 


the  northern  states.  The  value  of  this  grass  has  rarely  been  appreciated. 
Because  it  is  a  most  troublesome  weed  in  tillage  it  has  been  decried  as 
almost  worthless  by  a  large  class  of  planters  in  the  south,  who  want  corn 
and  cotton  and  not  grass  and  stock.  Though  regarded  as  a  nuisance  its 
merits  are  disclosed  by  the  fact  that  when  young  and  tender  it  is  preferred 
by  stock  to  almost  any  other  grass  and  it  is  very  nutritious.  It  is  a  friend 
in  disguise.  It  is  one  of  natures  allies  to  conceal  and  heal  the  wounds 
inflicted  upon  mother  earth  by  bad  cultivation.  It  is  the  best  of  all  natural 
agencies  for  stopping  gullies.  It  will  fasten  its  roots  upon  the  bottom  of 
the  gullies  and  catch  the  burden  of  soil  as  it  is  carried  down  by  a  rain. 


Bermuda  Grass — Cynodon  dactylon. 
2.  Inflorescence.    3.  Spikelet.    4.  Empty  glumes. 

As  the  bottom  of  gullies  fill  up  the  grass  rises  with  it,  building  up,  little 
by  little,  until  the  general  surface  is  reached. 

Bermuda  grass  is  a  perennial  and  the  most  valuable  for  a  pasture 
grass  of  any  grown  in  the  cotton  states.  It  will  also  grow  on  rich  soils 
in  all  parts  of  Tennessee  and  especially  in  West  Tennessee.  Freezing 
weather  endangers  its  vitality  and  therefore  it  will  not  do  to  rely  upon  in 
exposed  situations,  especially  upon  great  elevations.  It  prefers  sandy 
soils  and  fluviatile  deposits,  but  it  is  not  so  well  suited  to  sandstone  soils 
such  as  obtain  on  the  Cumberland  table-land.  It  will  readily  grow  upon 
the  moist  rich  soils  of  the  central  basin  but  winter  freezes  often  leave 
great  vacant  places  upon  such  soils.  The  clayey  soils  of  East  Tennessee 
in  proper  situations  will  grow  it  in  vigor.  It  has  the  capacity  to  endure 
the  greatest  amount  of  summer  heat,  and  droughts  that  will  threaten  the 
vitality  of  all  other  grasses  will  not  arrest  its  growth. 

HOW  IT  IS  PROPAGATED— Bermuda  grass  does  not  mature 
seed  in  Tennessee  and  only  to  a  limited  extent  in  the  Southern  States. 
The  best  and  surest  means  of  propagating  this  grass  is  to  cut  pieces  of  the 
turf  and  scatter  it  along  shallow  furrows  or  sow  it  over  the  land  well  pre- 
pared by  plowing  and  harrowing  and  cover  of  compress  the  roots  into 


65 

the  soil  with  a  roller  or  drag  brush.  A  stand  can  be  secured  also  by  cut- 
tings of  the  grass  if  it  is. at  once  distributed  over  the  land  and  covered. 

A  writer  in  the  Southern  Farm  Magazine  says:  "Let  the  plants  be 
gathered,  root  and  branch,  from  some  patch  of  ground  thickly  occupied 
by  them.  Let  them  be  shaken  free  from  earth  and  passed  through  the 
cutting-box  as  though  designed  for  the  manger  of  an  animal.  Let  these 
giblets  of  an  inch  long  be  sown  by  hand  broadcast  before  the  harrow 
along  with  the  oats  in  the  spring  of  the  year.  Every  joint  will  be  as 
sure  to  germinate  as  the  seed  corn.  But  the  little  plants  will  be  too  tiny 
the  first  year  to  interfere  at  all  with  the  cereal  crop.  The  next  year  the  old 
stubble  will  have  become  the  Bermuda  sod,  yielding  an  almost  incredible 
amount  of  pasturage  and  incapable  of  being  grazed  out  by  the  severest 
treatment  in  the  hottest  summer  drought." 

Seed  is  rarely  sown  for  two  reasons.  One  is  that  the  seed  is  expen- 
sive and  sells  for  $1.00  to  $1.25  per  pound,  and  a  still,  better  reason  is 
that  the  germinating  power  of  the  seed  obtained  from  the  West  Indies 
is  very  low. 

When  Bermuda  grass  is  once  thoroughly  rooted  it  spreads  itself  with 
amazing  rapidity  and  soon  takes  possession  of  a  field.  It  is  extremely 
difficult  to  exterminate.  It  should  never  be  planted  on  any  land  intended 
for  tillage  as  it  becomes  a  very  troublesome  pest.  Shade  will  ultimately 
destroy  it.  A  crop  of  peas  sown  upon  the  land  for  two  or  three  years 
will  do  much  to  exterminate  it.  Exposure  of  the  roots  to  winter  freezes, 
which  is  done  by  shallow  plowing,  often  destroys  it  in  the  latitude  of 
Tennessee. 

Rev.  C.  W.  Howard,  a  well  known  writer  on  grasses,  says  he  has 
found  "no  difficulty  in  destroying  it  upon  the  uplands  of  Georgia  by  close 
cultivation  in  cotton  for  two  years.  When  not  pastured  broom  grass  or 
briers  soon  destroy  it."  He  also  thinks  it  very  doubtful  whether  "there 
is  one  acre  of  land  in  the  South  thoroughly  set  with  Bermuda  grass  that 
is  not  worth  more  than  any  other  crop  that  can  be  grown  on  it." 

Dr.  C.  W.  Dabney  says:  "The  Bermuda  grass  sod,  not  only  in  the 
cotton  states,  but  in  Virginia,  has  proved  itself  the  most  fruitful  of  all 
pasturage.  There  are  well-known  fields,  not  on  superior  soil  and  never 
fertilized,  which  are  today  fattening  more  than  one  head  of  cattle  per  acre. 
This  will  almost  equal  the  blue  grass  in  Kentucky.  Some  wheat  farmers 
in  Virginia  have  almost  surrendered  tillage  for  the  sake  of  cattle  rearing 
upon  these  Bermuda  grass  fields,  because  they  have  found  live  stock 
more  profitable  than  wheat,  and  their  present  pursuit  free  from  many  vex- 
ations. The  farmers  upon  the  red-wheat  lands  of  Virginia  report  that 
Bermuda  grass  can  be  entirely  dispossessed  by  turning  it  under  and  keep- 
ing it  constantly  under  the  plow  for  two  or  three  years.  In  this  case  they 
advise,  after  taking  off  the  wheat  crop  in  June,  to  plow  the  stubble  under 
and  sow  the  field  in  peas.  In  September  the  peas  are  turned  under  as  a 
fallow  crop  and  the  field  resown  in  wheat.  After  two  or  three  summers 
of  this  double  cropping,  which  should  yield  profitable  returns  in  itself, 
Bermuda  grass  will  be  found  to  be  extirpated  by  the  shade  of  the  pea 
vines  while  the  enrichment  of  the  soil  still  continues." 

For  the  making  of  hay  Bermuda  is  held  in  high  esteem  in  all  those 


BOUQUET  OF  GRASSES  FROM  THE  GRASS  GARDEN, 
TENNESSEE  EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

(U.  S.  Dept.  Agric.) 


67 

sections  of  the  South  where  it  grows  to  a  sufficient  height  for  mowing. 
The  grass  must  be  cut  early  and  often  to  make  good  hay.  If  left  until 
the  culms  harden  it  is  almost  valueless  for  feeding  purposes.  Just  as  soon 
as  it  grows  high  enough  it  should  be  cut  and  cured  much  after  the  manner 
of  timothy  hay.  Prof.  S.  M.  Tracy,  in  an  address  delivered  before  an 
Agricultural  and  Horticultural  Convention  in  Jackson,  says  of  its  hay- 
making qualities: 

"With  us,  Bermuda  is  the  staple  sort  for  both  hay  and  pasture.  It 
grows  well  all  through  the  South,  will  make  from  two  to  four  tons  of  hay 
per  acre  and  the  hay  is  fine,  tender  and  nutritious.  During  the  summer 
it  gives  the  best  of  pasture,  and  is  uninjured  by  the1  longest  droughts.  At 
the  Experiment  Station  we  have  been  feeding  with  both  Bermuda  and  tim- 
othy hays  during  the  last  three  years,  as  a  test  of  their  feeding  values. 
The  timothy  was  selected  especially  for  the  purpose  by  a  man  who  ships 
that  hay  very  largely  and  was  of  the  very  best  quality;  the  Bermuda  was 
purchased  from  a  neighboring  farmer.  Without  going  into  the  details  of 
the  trial,  I  may  state  that,  ton  for  ton,  we  found  very  little  difference  be- 
tween the  two,  though  the  balance  was  slightly  in  fav'or  of  the  Bermuda. 
As  the  timothy  cost,  delivered  at  the  Station,  nearly  twice  as  much  as  did 
the  Bermuda,  the  balance  of  profit  was  very  decidedly  in  favor  of  the 
home-grown  hay." 

Prof.  Phares,  writing  in  the,,  early  seventies  says  of  it:  "As  a  peren- 
nial pasture  grass  I  know  of  no  other  that  I  consider  so  valuable  as  this. 
As  hay  this  grass  has  been  cured  and  held  in  high  esteem  in  Mississippi 
for  more  than  forty  years.  It  does  not  bear  dense  shade  but  grows  best 
where  most  exposed  to  the  intense  heat  of  the  sun.  To  make  good  pas- 
ture it  must  be  kept  well  trodden  and  grazed  to  keep  it  tender,  and  to 
suppress  other  objectionable  grasses  and  weeds.  To  make  good  hay  and 
the  largest  yield,  this'  grass  must  be  mowed  from  three  to  five  times  every 
summer.  Thus  briars,  brome  grass  and  other  weeds  are  also  repressed 
and  prevented  from  seeding,  multiplying  and  ruining  the  meadow.  Prop- 
erly managed  this  grass  grows  from  ten  to  fifteen  inches  high." 

BERMUDA  GRASS  AND  SHEEP— Bermuda  grass  has  long  been 
recognized  as  one  of  the  very  best  grazing  grasses  for  cattle  in  the  United 
States,  but  its  capacity  for  carrying  large  flocks  of  sheep  has  not  received 
the  attention  from  the  people  of  the  South  which  the  subject  merits.  No 
grass  will  bear  tramping  so  well  in  all  kinds  of  weather.  The  Southern 
States  are  the  largest  producers  of  cotton  in  the  world;  they  should  rival 
or  surpass  Australia  in  the  production  of  wool.  On  the  same  plantations 
where  cotton  grows  best,  Bermuda  grass  finds  its  most  congenial  home. 
The  cheapest  wool  should  be  produced  on  the  same  fields  that  produce 
the  cheapest  cotton.  One  acre  of  Bermuda  grass  well  established  on  soils 
entirely  adapted  to  its  growth  will  carry  ten  sheep  for  eight  months  in  the 
year,  and  in  many  parts  of  the  South,  ten  months.  Texas  blue  grass, 
sheep  fescue,  and  in  some  places  Kentucky  bjue  grass,  when  properly 
cared  for,  will  carry  the  flocks  through  the  remaining  months.  When  one 
considers  the  great  profits  that  may  be  derived  from  the  sale  of  early 
lambs  in  the  northern  markets,  and  the  growing  demand  for  first-class 
American  wool  and  mutton,  it  is  not  too  much  to  expect  that  within  the 


Kt      V 


Botanical  Description  of  Wheat — Triticum  sativum. 

On  the  left,  a  "head"  or  spike  of  beardless  wheat.  A,  a  single  spikelet;  the  two 
uppermost  florets  are  reduced  to  small  sterile  or  empty  glumes.  C,  empty  glume  seen 
from  the  side.  Cx,  the  same  seen  from  the  back.  D,  flowering  glume.  E.  palet.  Kl, 
grain  seen  in  front.  K2,  the  same  seen  from  the  back.  A",  a  portion  of  the  axis  of  the 
spike.  J,  the  pistil.  G,  lodicules.  On  right,  a  "head"  or  spike  of  bearded  wheat 

Wheat,  which  belongs  to  the  same  family  as  the  grasses  here  described,  is  occasion- 
ally cut  in  the  spring  or  early  summer  for  forage.  It  is  frequently  grazed  a  little,  but 
must  not  be  too  much  grazed. 


next  score  of  years  sheep  and  wool,  mutton  and  early  lambs  will  be  as  well 
known  products  of  southern  agriculture  as  cotton  is  at  the  present  time. 
The  establishment  of  Bermuda  grass  pastures  for  the  purpose  of  carrying 
sheep,  supplemented  by  pastures  of  winter  grasses,  will  work  an  indus- 
trial revolution  in  the  South.  This  would  bring  about  a  realization  of  un- 
told wealth.  It  is  a  prize  well  worth  contending  for  to  be  the  largest  pro- 
ducers in  the  world  of  two  of  the  most  important  fibres  for  clothing  the 
population  of  the  globe.  They  form  the  basis  of  the  most  numerous  and 
most  useful  industrial  establishments  in  the  world,  which  give  employ- 
ment to  a  larger  number  of  people  than  any  other  manufactories.  A 
larger  part  of  this  cotton  and  wool  should  be  manufactured  where  pro- 
duced. 

SMOOTH  BROME  GRASS—  (Bromus  inermis.}— (Hay  and  Pasturage.) 

About  1880,  the  Agricul- 
tural Experiment  Station  of 
California  introduced  this  pe- 
rennial grass  into  that  state 
from  Europe.  It  is  stolznifer- 
ous  like  Bermuda  grass  and 
soon  makes  a  thick  turf.  It 
seems  to  be  adapted  to  every 
climate  from  Canada  to  Ten- 
nessee, and  was  grown  suc- 
cessfully at  the  Experiment 
Station  at  Knoxville.  It  re- 
sists droughts  and  cold  equal- 
ly well  and  thrives  upon  dry, 
loose  soils  and  so  may  be  well 
adapted  to  the  Cumberland 
mountain  region.  It  grows, 
*  however,  more  vigorously 
upon  good  soils.  It  is  difficult 
to  exterminate,  but  not  so 
much  so  as  Bermuda  or  John- 
son grass.  It  possibly  may 
supply  a  want  on  the  gravelly  soils  of  East  Tennessee  and  of  the  siliceous 
soils  of  the  highland  rim.  Its  introduction,  however,  is  attended  with 
some  risk.  It  remains  green  the  greater  part  of  the  winter  and  is  desira- 
ble as  a  winter  pasture.  It  is  said  to  be  low  in  its  nutritive  elements.  A 
bushel  of  seed  weighs  14  pounds  and  sells  for  $20  to  $22  per  hundred 
pounds.  As  three  bushels  of  seed  are  required  for  one  acre,  it  is  hardly 
probable  that  the  grass  will  receive  much  attention  from  the  farmers  of 
Tennessee.  It  is  one  of  those  grasses  of  questionable  value  that  may 
prove  an  enemy  rather  than  a  friend  to  the  farmer.  If  in  its  habits  it  at  all 
resembles  its  kindred  grass,  cheat,  (Bromus  secalinus}  its  introduction 
would  be  altogether  injurious  to  the  best  interests  of  agriculture. 


Smooth  Brome  Grass — Bromus  inermis. 

'2.  Panicle.    3.  Upper  leaf.    4.  Spikelet.  5.  Empty 

glumes.    6,  7.  Floral  glume. 


Botanical  Description  of  Oats — A  vena  saliva. 

A,  a  portion  of  the  inflorescence  which  is  a  simple,  open  panicle.  B,  a  spikelet, 
two-flowered,  with  a  sterile  rudiment  terminating  the  rachilla.  C,  one  of  the  broad, 
lanceolate  empty  glumes.  Z),  a  flowering  glume;  this  bears  an  awn  on  the  back  just 
below  the  two-toothed  apex.  V",  pistil;  the  ovary  of  which  is  very  hairy.  G,  lodicules. 
1_  The  oat  is  a  most  useful  forage  plant;  but  its  culture  and  uses  are  well  understood 
and  require  no  discussion  here. 


71 

RESCUE  GRASS— AUSTRALIAN  OATS—  (Bromusunioloides.}— (Winter 

Grazing.) 

This  grass  is  a  native  of  South  America.  It  is  an  annual,  but  as  it 
seeds  freely  the  young  plants  succeed  the  old  ones  so  quickly  that  it  is 
practically  a  perennial.  It  supplies  good  grazing  during  the  winter.  It 
grows  from  one  to  three  feet  in  height.  It  makes  its  best  growth  during 
cold  weather  and  has  come  to  be  regarded  as  an  excellent  grazing  grass 
for  the  winter  months.  It  resembles  chess  or  cheat  in  its  habits  of 
growth,  and  danger  to  agriculture  may  lurk  in  its  introduction.  It  is 


Rescue  Grass — Brontus  unioloides. 
2.  Panicle.     3.  Upper  leaf.     4.  Spikelet.    5.  Empty  glumes,     6.  Flowering  glume. 

not  therefore  recommended  for  cultivation  to  the  farmers  of  Tennessee. 
The  notice  of  this  and  the  preceding  grass  is  made  as  a  warning  rather 
than  as  a  recommendation.  Farmers  will  never  regret  the  exercise  of 
due  caution  in  the  introduction  of  new  and  but  partially  known  grasses. 
They  have  herd's  grass  and  blue  grass  and  wheat,  rye,  barley  and  win- 
ter oats  that  will  serve  as  winter  pastures  without  taking  the  risk  of  intro- 
ducing a  strange  grass  with  unknown  qualities  that  may  prove  to  be  an 
enemy. 


HAIRY  FLOWERED  PASPALUM—  (Paspalum  ovatum  or  dilatatum.— 

(Pastures.) 

This  is  a  perennial,  said  to  be  a  native  of  Brazil,  and  is  considered  an 
excellent  grass  for  late  pastures,  as  it  makes  its  principal  growth  in 
autumn.  Dr.  Gattinger,  of  Nashville,  mentions  it  in  his  Tennessee  Flora 
as  being  one  of  the  grasses  found  in  open  ground  and  in  grass  plots.  It 


72 


grows  from  two  to  four  feet  high  and  has  long  narrow  leaves.  It  is 
greatly  relished  by  stock  and  does  not  appear  to  have  any  troublesome 
qualities. 

There  are  twelve  species  of  this  grass,  according  to  Dr.  Gattinger, 
found  in  the  Southern  States,  seven  of  which  are  found  in  the  State  of 
Tennessee.  He  says:  ''The  various  species  which  represent  this  grass 
within  the  State  of  Tennessee  rank,  in  my  opinion,  foremost  by  the  num- 
ber of  individuals,  nutritious  qualities  and  tenacity  of  life,  amongst  the 
whole  of  the  grazing  herbage.  They  are  perennials  with  thick,  strong, 


2.  Inflorescence. 


Hairy* Flowered  Paspalum — Paspalum  ovatum. 

3.  Upper  leaf.     4.  Spikelet.    5.  Spikelet  laid  open.    6.  Floral  glume. 
7.   Palea  and  lodicule. 


running  roots,  often  making  a  dense  matting.  Wherever  they  take  hold 
other  plants  disappear.  *  *  *  Blue  grass  and  paspalum  are  frequently 
commingled  but  the  latter  succeeds  the  former  by  four  or  five  weeks  and 
comes  in  full  force  after  the  former  has  perished  away.  They  are  vigor- 
ous growing  succulent  grasses  with  heavy  culms,  large  and  smooth  seed 
grains  with  a  smooth  and  thin  epidermis.  They  must  surely  be  very 
nutritious  and  their  habit  and  cultivation  ought  to  be  studied." 


PART  II. 
DOMESTICATED  LEGUMINOUS  PLANTS. 

The  leguminous  plants  embrace  not  less  than  6500  species.  They  are 
widely  distributed  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe  and  vary  in  size  from  a 
lowly  plant  that  scarcely  lifts  its  head  above  the  surface  to  the  majestic 
locust  trees  found  in  tropical  lands. 

Of  the  leguminous  plants  Dr.  Gattinger  in  his  Tennessee  Flora  enu- 
merates 35  genera,  85  species  and  3  varieties,  making  83  species  and  varie- 
ties. Nine  of  these  have  been  introduced,  three  are  woody  plants,  three 
are  trees  and  seventy-two  belong  to  the  flora  found  in  the  counties  imme- 
diately around  Nashville. 

For  the  making  of  hay  and  for  pasturage  many  of  these  leguminous 
plants  rank  with  the  best  domesticated  grasses  in  nutritive  elements,  and 
in  their  capacity  for  furnishing  forage  for  live  stock.  As  a  restorer  of 
worn-out  soils  leguminous  plants  are  far  more  valuable  than  the  grasses. 
Every  leguminous  plant  is  endowed  with  nodules,  the  habitat  of  special 
microbes,  which  have  the  power  of  catching  free  nitrogen  from  the  at- 
mosphere, this  nitrogen  being  assimilated  by  the  plant  itself.  These 
microbes  are  believed  to  embrace  as  many  species  as  there  are  species  of 
leguminous  plants,  and  the  cultivation  of  one  leguminous  plant  is  thought 
to  destroy  the  microbes  of  another.  "Clover  sick"  is  probably  due  to  the 
destruction  of  the  clover  microbes,  or  bacteria.  To  preserve  the  fertility 
of  the  soil  it  is  important  that  leguminous  plants  become  one  of  the  crops 
in  rotation,  and  there  should  also  be  a  rotation  in  the  leguminous  crops 
themselves.  Clover  should  alternate  with  cowpeas,  soy  beans,  crimson 
clover,  etc.  Nitrogen,  in  leguminous  plants,  occurs  in  the  form  of  pro- 
teids,  which  make  meat  and  milk,  and  so  is  the  most  valuable  constituent 
in  the  food  for  cattle,  especially  for  milch  cows.  The  dry  forage  of  legu- 
minous plants  is  worth  nearly  twice  as  much  for  such  stock  as  dry  hay. 

The  following  domesticated  leguminous  plants  will  be  discussed  in 
the  order  named  in  this  bulletin: 

Red  Clover —  Trifolium  pratense. 

Crimson  Clover — Trifolium  incarnalum. 

Bur  Clover — Medicago  maculata. 

Alsike  Clover — Trifolium  hybridum. 

White  Clover — Trifolium  repans. 

Sainfoin  or  Esparcet — Onobrychis  saliva, 

Melilotus — Melilolus  alba. 

Lucern,  or  Alfalfa — Medicago  saliva. 

Cowpeas — Vigna  caljang. 

Peanuts — Arachis  hypog<za. 

Japan  Clover — Lespedeza  slriala. 

Soy  Bean — Glycine  soja  or  Sofa  hispida. 

Short  mention  of  other  domesticated  leguminous  plants  will  also  be 
made. 


74 

RED  CLOVER— (  Trifolium pratense.}— (Pasture  and  Hay.) 
There  is  no  forage  plant  in  all  respects  so  useful  to  the  American 
farmer  as  red  clover.  It  has  been  well  styled  the  corner  stone  of  agricul- 
ture and  this  because  it  seems  to  be  the  concomitant  or  forerunner  of  all 
successful  agriculture.  In  the  border  States  a  farmer  who  is  too 
poor  to  sow  clover  is  too  poor  to  own  a  farm.  In  our  climate  and  soils 
this  plant  is  well  nigh  indispensable.  The  soils  of  Tennessee  fatten  upon 
it.  It  furnishes  an  immense  amount  of  grazing,  yields  an  abundance  of 
nutritious  hay,  and  is  a  profitable  crop,  considered  with  reference  to  the 
seed  alone.  But  beyond  all  these  it  acts  as  a  vigorous  ameliorator  of  the 
soil,  increases  more  than  any  other  forage  plant  probably  the  amount 


CLOVER  FIELD  AT  SOMERVILLE,  TENN. 

of  available  nitrogen,  supplies  humus  and  so  becomes  an  important  agent 
in  keeping  up  the  productive  capacity  of  the  soil,  increasing  the  yield  of 
other  crops  and  thus  adding  to  the  prosperity  of  the  farmer  who  sows  it. 
Scientific  inquiry  has  abonl  reached  the  conclusion  that  the  little  excres- 
cences or  tubercles  upon  i'  e  roots  of  clover  enable  the  plant  to  utilize 
the  free  nitrogen  of  the  :«:•  icsphere  as  an  important  element  of  fertility. 
It  must  be  borne  in  min<l  liat  a  soil  may  contain  the  most  abundant  sup- 
plies of  every  substance  demanded  by  a  growing  plant,  and  yet  that  plant 
may  perish  of  starvation.  If  these  substances  are  not  in  a  condition  to 


75 

be  dissolved  by  rain-water  or  the  plant  juices  they  are  as  impotent  to  sup- 
port plant  life  as  the  uncrumbled  surface  of  a  desert  rock.  The  food 
must  be  prepared  for  plants  just  as  the  corn  and  wheat  must  be  shucked 
or  threshed,  ground  and  baked  for  the  use  of  man.  Clover  acts  as  the 
miller  and  baker  for  other  crops.  It  prepares  the  food  so  that  it  becomes 
available  and  digestible  by  them. 

SOILS  ADAPTED  TO  ITS  GROWTH— Red  clover  is  a  biennial 
plant,  which  under  judicious  tillage,  may  be  made  practically  a  perennial, 
and  is  specially  adapted  to  calcareous  or  limy  soils;  but  it  will  grow  well 
upon  sandy  soils,  when  a  "catch"  is  secured,  by  the  application  of  a  top- 
dressing  of  gypsum  or  barnyard  manure.  I  have  seen  it  growing  with 
vigor  upon  the  feldspathic  soils  of  Johnson  county,  upon  the  sandstone 
soils  of  the  Cumberland  table-land,  and  upon  the  sandy  loams  of  West 
Tennessee;  but  it  finds  a  more  congenial  soil  in  the  clayey  and  limy  lands 
of  the  valley  of  East  Tennessee,  or  on  the  red  soils  of  the  Highland  Rim, 
and  grows  most  luxuriantly  on  the  limestone  loams  of  the  Central  Basin. 
But  the  deep,  black,  porous  soils  of  this  division  are  not  suited  physically 
for  the  growing  of  clover.  Such  soils  become  very  dry  in  summer  and 
open  in  great  cracks  or  fissures.  The  clover  grows  well  enough  at  first 
but  is  apt  to  be  killed  by  the  dry,  hot  weather  of  summer.  The  clayey 
lands  of  West  Tennessee,  containing  nodules  of  calcareous  matter,  have 
no  superior  for  the  production  of  clover.  It  often  grows  upon  these  lands 
from  four  to  five  feet  in  height,  and  when  it  falls  forms  a  mat  of  great 
density  and  thickness.  As  much  as  four  tons  of  clover  hay  have  been 
taken  from  a  single  acre.  There  is  also  a  soil  derived  from  the  Dyestone 
or  Clinton  formation  in  East  Tennessee  that  grows  clover  with  surpris- 
ing luxuriance.  On  such  soils  in  McMinn  county,  the  ordinary  red 
clover  sometimes  grows  six  feet  in  height.  Probably  three-fourths  of  the 
lands  in  Tennessee  will  grow  clover  remuneratively,  and  of  the  soils  that 
will  not  a  large  portion  are  included  in  the  old  gullied  fields  that  con- 
stitute the  shame  and  mark  the  shiftlessness  of  too  many  farmers.  It 
may  be  set  down  as  an  infallible  rule  in  the  State  of  Tennessee  that  good 
farming  and  abundant  clovering  go  together. 

SOWING  CLOVER— Clover  may  be  sown  in  Tennessee  upon 
wheat,  rye  or  oat  fields,  or  alone.  Instances  have  been  reported  where  a 
splendid  stand  was  obtained  by  sowing  after  cultivators  in  the  last  work- 
ing of  corn  in  July.  This  is  unusual  however.  So  is  fall  sowing.  The 
best  time  to  sow  is  from  the  first  of  January  until  the  first  of  April.  If 
sown  in  January  or  February,  the  seed  ought  to  be  sown  upon  snow. 
This  is  not  only  convenient  in  enabling  one  to  distribute  the  seed  evenly 
over  the  land,  but  the  gradual  melting  of  the  snow,  and  the  slight  freezes, 
bury  the  seed  just  deep  enough  to  insure  rapid  germination  when  the 
warm  days  of  March  come  on.  For  the  same  reason,  if  sown  in  March, 
the  seed  ought  to  be  sown  when  the  ground  is  slightly  crusted  by  a 
freeze.  If  the  sowing  is  deferred  until  too  late  for  frosty  nights,  the 
land  should  be  well  harrowed  and  the  seed  sown  immediately  after  the 
harrow.  Upon  land  seeded  to  wheat,  this  harrowing  will  not  only  serve 
to  secure  a  good  stand  of  clover,  but  will  add  greatly  to  the  yield  of  the 
wheat.  It  will  hasten  germination  and  cause  a  larger  proportion  of  seed 


76 

to  grow  fo  harrow  the  land  after  the  seed  is  sown.  With  oats,  the  seeds 
should  be  sown  after  the  last  harrowing  or  brushing,  with  a  slight  after- 
brushing  to  cover  them. 

It  often  happens  when  clover  seed  is  sown  with  wheat  or  oats,  espec- 
ially if  the  land  be  much  worn,  that  a  "catch"  will  not  be  obtained.  The 
practice  is  so  universal  throughout  the  country  of  sowing  clover  with 
small  grain,  that  many  farmers  labor  under  the  impression  that  this  is  the 
only  way  of  seeding  land  to  clover.  This  idea  is  erroneous.  A  better  stand 
of  clover  with  less  seed,  may  always  be  secured  by  sowing  upon  land  pre- 
pared for  clover  alone.  An  excellent  catch  upon  "galled"  places  may  be 
had  by  breaking  the  land  well  and  sowing  the  seed  without  any  previous 
or  after  harrowing.  In  nine  cases  out  of  ten  a  stand  will  be  secured  in 
this  way  upon  soils  where  clover  sown  with  small  grain  will  fail  in  nine 
cases  out  of  ten.  Clover  seed  sown  upon  a  well  harrowed  stalk  field  will, 
in  most  cases,  secure  a  stand. 

The  quantity  of  seed  to  sow  per  acre  depends  upon  the  character  of 
the  soil,  its  state  of  pulverization  and  also  upon  the  fact  whether  the  land 
has  ever  been  seeded  to  clover.  Upon  good,  fresh,  rich  soils  where  clover 
has  not  been  previously  grown,  one  bushel  for  eight  acres  should  be 
sown.  If  the  soil  is  thin  and  unproductive  one  bushel  for  six  acres 
ought  to  be  sown.  If  the  land  has  been  regularly  rotated  with  clover, 
one  half  the  quantity  of  seed  mentioned  above  will  suffice;  sometimes 
much  less.  Clover  seed,  owing  to  the  large  quantity  of  oil  which  it  con- 
tains, is  nearly  indestructible  when  placed  ten  or  twelve  inches  beneath 
the  surface. 

The  frequent  failure  to  secure  a  good  stand  of  clover  should  admon- 
ish the  farmers  to  exercise  more  care  in  the  seeding.  When  sown 
late  in  the  spring  many  of  the  seeds  sprout  and  are  killed  by  dry  weather. 
It  would  be  all  the  better  if  the  clover  seed  could  be  buried  a  half  inch 
(or  even  an  inch  on  loose  soils)  beneath  the  surface  after  the  middle  of 
March.  The  common  practice  in  England  is  to  sow  not  only  clover, 
but  all  grass  seeds,  with  oats  or  barley  in  spring.  After  the  seeds 
are  sown  the  field  is  harrowed  and  then  rolled,  so  as  to  cover  them 
and  at  the  same  time  to  smooth  the  surface  of  the  field.  While  upon  well 
prepared  soils  a  bushel  to  eight  acres  is  sufficient,  yet  a  bushel  to  six 
acres  will,  in  a  majority  of  cases,  give  better  and  more  satisfactory  results. 
In  England  24  pounds  are  usually  sown  to  the  acre  when  the  crop  is  in- 
tended for  hay.  The  smaller  the  stem  the  more  acceptable  it  is  to  cattle. 
When  the  clover  is  thin,  the  woody  fibre  is  greatly  increased.  There  is 
no  greater  blunder  committed  by  the  farmer,  than  to  be  sparing  of  grass 
seed.  It  is  difficult  for  grass  to  be  too  thick.  The  plants  shelter  one  an- 
other; they  retain  for  a  longer  time  the  dew  and  moisture  when  thickly 
set,  and  they  must  push  upward  as  there  is  no  lateral  space  to  occupy. 

GROWTH  AND  MANURE— Red  clover  rarely  makes  much 
growth  the  first  season,  if  sown  with  grain.  Should  the  weather  be  sea- 
sonable after  harvest,  and  the  land  fertile,  it  will  sometimes  attain  the 
height  of  thirty  inches  and  put  out  blooms,  making  an  excellent  fall  pas- 
ture. When  sown  alone,  it  will  always  blossom  in  August. 

Sheep  and  hogs  are  very  injurious  to  young  clover,  and  should  never 


77 

be  allowed  to  run  on  it  until  the  second  year.  Grasshoppers  often  eat 
out  the  crown  and  destroy  it.  Dry  weather  in  a  stubble  field  where  the 
rays  of  the  sun  are  reflected  and  repeated  a  thousand  times  from  the 
surface  of  the  yellow  stubble,  is  very  trying  to  its  vitality.  Yet  if  the  land 
has  been  well  and  deeply  broken  and  is  moderately  fertile,  a  sufficient 
stand  may  be  depended  upon. 

As  soon  as  the  clover  begins  to  grow,  in  early  spring,  an  application 
of  two  bushels  of  gypsum  or  land  plaster,  upon  granitic  or  sandy  soils,  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  get  a  good  growth. 

An  application  of  gypsum  is  rarely  beneficial  upon  clayey  loams,  but 
its  effects  are  very  apparent  on  strong  limestone  soils,  such  as  are  found 
in  the  Central  Basin,  where  from  t50  to  100  pounds  per  acre  should  be 
sown  upon  clover.  On  the  chocolate  colored  soils  of  Warren,  Mont- 
gomery, Stewart  and  Robertson  counties,  gypsum  benefits  clover  very 
little.  Upon  the  soils  of  the  Unaka  and  Cumberland  mountains,  it  is 
indispensable,  to  secure  a  remunerative  yield  of  foliage. 

Mr.  C.  W.  Johnston  in  a  prize  essay  on  the  application  of  gypsum  to 
the  artificial  grasses,  says  that  it  should  not  be  considered  as  a  stimulant, 
but  as  an  essential  food.  "When  the  farmer  finds  that  those  fields  which 
once  produced  luxuriant  crops  of  red  clover,  or  sainfoin,  will  no  longer 
yield  them  in  abundance;  if  he  notices  that  the  young  plants  spring  up 
very  numerously,  but  die  away  as  the  summer  advances;  if  he  finds  that 
his  fields  will  only  grow  clover  successfully  once  in  eight  or  twelve  years, 
and  that  his  neighbors  tell  him  his  land  is  tired  of  clover,  or  "clover  sick," 
he  may  then  safely  conclude  that  his  crops  have  gradually  exhausted  his 
land  of  sulphate  of  lime;  and  he  may,  with  every  confidence  of  success, 
apply  a  dressing  of  gypsum  by  scattering  it  evenly  over  the  ground  on  the 
clover  plants  at  the  rate  of  200  pounds  per  acre,  taking  care  to  choose  a 
wet  morning  for  the  application;  and  this  may  be  done  at  any  season  of 
the  year,  but  it  is  best  either  in  April  or  the  first  days  of  May."  In  Ten- 
nessee gypsum  should  be  sown  in  the  spring  as  soon  as  the  clover  begins 
to  grow,  and  again  the  following  spring. 

Mr.  Smith,  of  Highstead,  England,  states  that  he  found  the  greatest 
benefit  from  the  use  of  gypsum  to  his  clover  leys;  for  where  the  simple 
soil  produced  one  ton  only  per  acre  of  hay,  the  portion  of  the  same  soil 
to  which  five  bushels  per  acre  of  gypsum  had  been  applied,  yielded  three 
tons — the  first  only  yielding  20  pounds  of  seed  while  the  latter  produced 
105  pounds.  Mr.  Smith,  too.  first  noticed  what  observation  has  since 
confirmed — that  cattle,  horses,  etc.,  always  prefer  the  clover  growing  on 
the  portion  of  the  field  that  had  received  an  application  of  gypsum  to  any 
other.  The  same  remark  is  made  by  those  who  spread  coal  ashes,  which 
contain  a  considerable  quantity  of  this  earth,  on  their  grass  leys. 

Red  clover,  the  second  year,  has  two  growing  seasons.  It  makes  its 
most  vigorous  growth  from  the  first  of  April  until  the  15th  of  June,  be- 
ginning to  bloom  usually  in  the  latitude  of  Tennessee  about  the  15th 
of  May,  and  attaining  its  full  inflorescence  about  the  first  of  June.  After 
this,  unless  pastured  by  stock  or  cut  for  hay,  the  heads  begin  to  dry  up, 
and  stems  and  leaves  begin  to  fall,  forming  a  mat  upon  the  land.  Some- 
times this  mat  is  so  thick  as  to  catch  and  concentrate  the  heat  of  the  sun 


78 

to  such  a  degree  as  to  scald  the  roots  and  destroy  the  clover.  Usually  it 
is  best  after  clover  has  attained  its  full  bloom,  either  to  cut  it  for  hay  or 
pasture  it  until  about  the  first  of  July,  when  the  stock  is  removed,  or 
the  clover  hay  cured  and  taken  off.  If  there  is  rain  enough,  a  second 
crop  will  spring  up  from  the  roots  at  once.  This  second  crop  is  the  most 
valuable  for  seed,  the  seed  maturing  about  the  last  of  August  and  sooner, 
if  there  be  copious  rains.  To  make  the  most  abundant  yield  of  clover  for 
grazing,  it  should  be  allowed  to  grow  all  it  will,  but  never  let  it  make 
seed,  always  grazing  it  down  when  in  full  bloom.  When  grazed  down, 
take  off  the  stock  until  it  blooms  again.  Several  successive  crops  may 
thus  be  made  during  the  summer.  The  crop  of  August  is  unfit  for  horses 
or  mules,  the  seed  having  the  effect  of  salivating  them  to  such  a  degree 
as  to  cause  them  to  lose  flesh. 

Clover  has  no  superior  as  a  grazing  plant.  When  in  full  vigor  and 
bloom  it  will  carry  more  cattle  and  sheep  per  acre  than  blue  grass,  herd's 
grass  or  orchard  grass.  After  it  has  been  grazed  to  the  earth,  a  few 
showery  days  with  warm  suns  will  cause  it  to  spring  up  into  renewed 
vitality,  ready  again  to  furnish  its  succulent  herbage  to  domestic  animals. 
Though  very  nutritious  and  highly  relished  by  cattle,  it  often  produces  a 
dangerous  swelling  called  hoven,  from  which  many  cows  die.  When 
first  turned  upon  clover,  cattle  should  only  be  allowed  to  graze  for  an 
hour  or  two,  and  then  be  driven  off  for  the  remainder  of  the  day,  grad- 
ually increasing  the  time  of  grazing,  until  they  become  less  voracious  in 
their  appetites,  never  permitting  them  to  run  upon  clover  when  wet. 
Clover  made  wet  by  a  rain  at  midday  is  more  likely  to  produce  hoven 
than  when  wet  by  dew.  If  taken  in  the  stomach  of  cattle  when  wet  by 
rain  at  midday,  and  after  the  stalks  and  leaves  are  heated  by  the  sun,  fer- 
mentation in  the  stomach  will  occur  much  sooner  than  when  the  herbage 
is  cool,  though  wet  with  the  morning  dew.  Cattle  are  more  easily  af- 
fected by  clover  than  horses,  because,  being  ruminants,  they  take  in  the 
clover  rapidly,  filling  the  stomach  at  once,  without  chewing.  Diges- 
tion is  for  the  time  checked  and  a  rapid  fermentation  sets  in. 

Stock  should  never  be  turned  upon  clover  until  it  blooms.  The  prac- 
tice of  many  farmers,  to  turn  all  the  stock  upon  a  clover  field  early  in 
April,  is  very  destructive.  The  crown  of  the  clover  is  eaten  out,  causing 
it  to  perish.  The  tread  of  heavy  cattle  has  the  same  effect. 

As  a  soiling  crop  red  clover  is  excelled  by  .no  crop  grown  in  the 
South.  The  practice  of  soiling  in  thickly  settled  communities  is  one  much 
commanded  by  agricultural  writers.  A  half-acre  of  clover  on  a  rich  soil 
will  supply  one  cow  throughout  the  months  of  June,  July  and  August,  if 
cut  off  and  fed  in  a  stall,  while  twice  the  amount  in  pasture,  according  to 
some  English  experimenters,  will  barely  subsist  a  cow  during  the  same 
period;  but  this  will  depend,  of  course,  upon  the  luxuriance  of  the  growth. 
Soiling — that  is  cutting  the  grass  and  feeding  it  green — is  a  very  desirable 
practice,  near  small  towns,  where  many  persons  own  small  lots  and  de- 
sire to  keep  a  milch  cow.  No  other  plant,  perhaps,  will  produce  a  larger- 
flow  of  milk. 

EFFECTS  OF  CLOVER  UPON  SOILS— Numerous  facts  have 
taught  the  farmers  of  every  country  where  agriculture  has  flourished,  that 


79 

in  many  cases  the  value  of  the  aftercrop  depends  upon  the  preceding 
crop.  In  other  words  a  proper  rotation  is  a  necessary  antecedent  to  suc- 
cessful farming.  The  cultivation  of  some  crop  with  extensive  root  rami- 
fications, will  prepare  the  soil  for  the  subsequent  growth  of  a  cereal.  But 
the  farmer  should  not  deceive  himself.  Every  crop  takes  away  a  part  of 
the  available  plant-food  and  the  field  has  not  increased  in  fertility,  but 
the  plant-food  has  been  made  more  readily  effective  for  the  production  of 
a  crop.  "The  physical  and  chemical  condition  of  the  fields  has  been 
improved,  but  the  chemical  store  has  been  reduced."  "All  plants,"  says 
Liebig,  "without  exception,  exhaust  the  soil,  each  of  them  in  its  own 
way,  of  the  conditions  f.or  their  reproduction." 

A  field  then,  which  produces  more  kindly  after  rotation,  is  not  neces- 
sarily more  fertile,  but  is  in  better  physical  condition.  It  has  already 
been  mentioned,  that  the  mechanical  effects  of  clover  upon  soils  is  not 
the  least  among  its  valuable  properties.  The  reaction  rendered  possible 
by  the  penetration  into  the  soil  of  the  long  tap  roots  and  the  effect  of  the 
dense  shade  upon  the  land  have  a  tendency  to  increase  the  productiveness 
of  the  soil. 

Clover,  however,  is  the  greatest  of  all  fertilizing  plants.  Other  legu- 
minous plants  as  well  as  clover  collect  nitrogen  from  the  atmosphere  and 
save  it,  but  clover  more  rapidly  improves  the  physical  condition  of  the 
soil.  A  crop  of  clover  taken  from  the  land,  while  it  abstracts  some  of 
the  elements  needed  for  plant  growth,  yet,  in  increasing  the  content  of 
nitrogen,  it  gives  back  to  the  soil  much  more  of  value  than  it  takes  away. 
Clover  has  been  called  "a  trap  for  nitrogen,"  which  it  catches  and  pre- 
serves for  the  nourishing  of  growing  crops.  Dr.  Kedzie  says:  "Clover 
hay  or  sod  contains  enough  phosphoric  acid  for  more  than  double  an 
average  crop,  enough  nitrogen  for  more  than  four  average  crops  and 
enough  potash  for  six  average  crops  of  wheat." 

The  analysis  of  red  clover  indicates  what  manures  would  increase  its 
growth.  Sulphate  of  lime  or  land  plaster,  the  phosphates,  wood  and  coal 
ashes,  are  all  excellent  top  dressings  for  the  clover  field.  Common  stable 
manure,  containing  as  it  does  all  the  elements  of  a  good  fertilizer,  is  suit- 
able as  a  top  dressing  for  any  pasture  or  meadow. 

Sulphate  of  lime  is  found  on  limy  or  sandy  soils,  to  largely  increase 
the  growth  of  clover.  When  used  on  a  wheat  field  seeded  to  clover  in 
early  spring,  a  "catch"  of  clover  will  be  secured  on  the  thinnest  spots  and 
it  will  grow  luxuriantly  after  such  top  dressing.  The  greatest  benefits 
from  an  application  of  commercial  fertilizers  upon  wheat  are  often  ob- 
tained in  this  way.  A  gfood  stand  of  clover,  however  secured,  is  the  best 
possible  preparation  of  land  for  a  succeeding  crop  of  wheat.  And  this 
arises  not  only  from  the  available  nitrogen  which  a  clover  crop  supplies, 
but  from  the  thorough  subsdiling  which  is  effected  by  the  deep,  pene- 
trating tap-roots  of  the  clover.  They  often  descend  to  the  depth  of  four 
feet  in  search  of  food,  while  its  broad  leaves  "absorb  carbon  from  the 
atmosphere,  changing  it  into  solid  matter,  and  causing  elements  in  the 
soil  to  assume  organic  forms,  rendering  them  more  available  as  food  for 
other  crops."  If  the  soil  be  robbed  of  its  fertility,  the  deficient  elements 
must  be  added  before  clover  will  "take." 


80 

As  clover  derives  a  large  percentage  of  the  constituents  necessary  to 
its  growth  from  the  atmosphere,  it  is  all  important  that  there  should  be 
a  good  top  growth.  Its  value  as  a  renovator  of  the  soil  depends  largely 
upon  the  quantity  of  the  roots,  and  the  roots  will  always  be  proportioned 
to  the  quantity  of  foliage.  For  this  reason  it  is  better  to  cut  clover  off 
than  to  feed  it  off.  A  writer  in  the  American  Cultivator,  speaking  of  this 
subject,  says: 

''Where  a  clover  sod  is  desired  for  future  grain  or  other  crop,  it  will 
be  found  that  the  cutting  of  clover  is  generally  better  than  feeding  it  off, 
because  every  leaflet  upward  has  rooted  downwards,  and  if  a  leaflet  be 
taken  off  the  rootlet  will  not  grow,  so  that  if  sheep  or  pigs  be  fed  upon 
the  surface,  the  constant  cropping  of  the  leaves  diminishes  the  under 
production.  Always  feeding  the  top  will  leave  but  few  roots  below. 
This  was  illustrated  by  a  practical  experiment  on  a  field  of  clover,  divided 
into  two  parts.  The  whole  was  cut  in  July;  half  was  left  to  grow  again, 
and  the  other  half  fed  off.  In  October  the  roots  of  each  division  were 
dug  up,  carefully  cleaned  and  weighed,  with  a  result  that  showed  a  pro- 
portionate weight  of  3.920  pounds  to  the  acre  where  the  clover  was  cut 
once  and  fed  afterwards,  while  the  part  on  which  the  clover  was  cut 
twice  yielded  at  a  rate  per  acre  of  nearly  8,000  pounds  of  roots.  The  sys- 
tem of  cutting  instead  of  feeding  resulted  in  leaving  two  tons  extra  of 
vegetable  matter,  valuable  in  nitrogen,  and  which  had  a  perceptible  effect 
on  the  corn  crop  that  followed." 

WHEN  TO  CUT  AND  HOW  TO  CURE  CLOVER  HAY— 
Clover  for  hay  should  be  mowed  at  the  time  when  the  nutritive  elements 
— those  elements  which  give  strength  and  produce  flesh — are  at  their 
maximum.  Those  who  are  in  the  habit  of  feeding  stock  find  that  clover 
cut  about  the  time  of  full  bloom,  when  a  few  of  the  blooms  begin  to 
dry  up,  and  just  as  the  reproductive  functions  are  being  brought  into 
play  for  the  maturing  of  seed,  will,  pound  for  pound,  produce  more  fat 
and  muscle  than  that  cut  at  any  other  stage.  The  only  art  in  curing  hay 
is  to  retain  as  many  of  the  life-giving  constituents  in  it  as  possible,  or  to 
preserve  it  as  nearly  as  practicable  in  the  same  condition  in  which  it  is 
cut.  with  the  water  only  abstracted. 

The  plan  generally  adopted  is  to  mow  the  clover  in  the  morning  and 
let  it  lie  in  the  sun  several  hours  until  a  wisp  taken  up  and  twisted  will 
show  no  exudation  of  moisture.  It  is  then  thrown  up  into  small  cocks, 
say  four  feet  in  diameter  and  four  feet  high.  In  these,  unless  there  is 
appearance  of  rain,  it  is  allowed  to  remain  for  a  day  or  two,  when  it  may 
be  hauled  to  the  barn  and  stored  away  without  danger  of  damage.  Care 
should  be  taken  not  to  let  the  dew  fall  upon  it  as  it  lies  scattered  by  the 
mower  after  it  has  begun  to  cure.  The  dew  of  one  single  night,  under 
such  conditions,  will  blacken  the  leaves  and  destroy  the  aroma  for  which 
good  clover  hay  is  so  much  prized. 

Another  plan  practised  is  to  mow  it  and  let  it  lie  just  long  enough  in 
the  sun  to  wilt,  and  then  carry  it  to  an  open  house  and  lay  it  upon 
beams  or  tier-poles,  where  it  can  receive  the  free  action  of  the  air.  After 
a  few  days  it  may  be  packed  down  without  any  danger  of  fermenting. 
Cured  in  this  way,  in  the  shade,  it  retains  its  green  color,  is  fragrant,  and 


81 

makes  a  most  excellent  feed.  The  only  objections  to  this  plan  are  the 
great  amount  of  room  under  cover  required  for  curing,  and  the  addi- 
tional burden  of  hauling  while  green. 

Another  plan  is  to  haul  it  up  as  soon  as  it  wilts,  using  about  half  a 
bushel  of  salt  to  the  ton  of  cured  hay.  A  layer  a  foot  or  more  in  thick- 
ness is  put  down,  over  which  salt  is  scattered  pretty  freely,  then  another 
layer  and  salt,  continuing  to  repeat  the  operation  until  the  space  set 
apart  for  hay  is  filled.  A  rapid  fermentation  will  ensue,  and  the  hay  will 
be  cured  by  the  heat  of  this  fermentation,  the  salt  acting  as  a  preventive 
against  putrefaction.  Instead  of  salt,  layers  of  wheat  straw  may  be  sub- 
stituted. By  using  straw  the  clover  may  be  cured  in  the  field.  The  quan- 
tity of  straw  to  be  used  in  the  rick  or  stack  depends  upon  the  moisture  in 
the  clover — the  greener  the  clover  the  thicker  should  be  the  straw.  The 
straw  will  act  as  an  absorbent  and  during  the  process  will  itself  be  greatly 
increased  in  value  as  food  for  stock,  having  imparted  to  it  the  flavor  and 
aroma  of  the  clover  plant. 

One  of  the  largest  farmers  in  Maury  county,  Tennessee,  whose  land 
is  admirably  adapted  to  the  growth  of  clover,  and  who  has  made  a  great 
success  in  saving  clover  hay,  gives  the  following  account  of  his  method 
of  saving  it: 

''Clover  should  be  cut  when  about  half  of  the  first  blooms  are  dead, 
to  make  the  best  hay.  My  plan  is  to  begin  cutting  early  in  the  morning 
and  continue  throughout  the  entire  day.  The  next  morning  just  before 
the  hay  becomes  entirely  free  from  the  dew  I  rake  it  into  windrows,  then 
put  it  into  shocks  where  it  remains  from  24  to  36  hours.  I  never  permit 
it  to  remain  spread  out  on  the  ground  until  it  becomes  dry  and  crisp 
from  the  heat  of  the  sun.  Putting  it  up  into  shocks  while  yet  green  or 
half  cured  causes  fermentation  to  begin  immediately,  but  this  fermenta- 
tion is  not  excessive  because  the  air  can  penetrate  it  and  keep  it  com- 
paratively cool.  I  rehandle  it  after  it  has  begun  to  heat,  which  airs  it 
well  and  it  then  remains  perfectly  bright  and  sweet  after  it  is  put  into 
ricks  or  barns.  No  other  rehandling  is  necessary  except  that  which  is 
incident  to  the  hauling  and  storing  of  it.  In  threatening  weather  I  put 
up  my  hay  in  the  barn  after  one  day's  sun,  but  in  that  case  I  rehandle  it 
after  36  hours  and  it  is  thus  aired  thoroughly.  My  opinion  is  that  fer- 
mentation, if  left  undisturbed,  will  injure  the  hay  for  food  because  it  usu- 
ally induces  mould  and  in  this  condition  it  is  objectionable  to  stock.  I 
never  stop  cutting  hay  for  rain,  though  a  protracted  rain  will  ruin  it.  One 
rain  only  will  make  it  of  dull  color,  but  does  not  materially  change  its 
value  as  food  for  stock. 

"There  is  no  hay  known,  in  my  opinion,  to  southern  farmers  that 
equals  good  clover  hay  for  stock.  I  prefer  it  to  choice  timothy  for  reg- 
ular feeding.  It  is  the  principal  hay,  which  I  use  for  horses,  mules  and 
cows  and  they  never  seem  to  tire  eating  it  and  always  keep  healthy  and 
fat.  In  the  management  of  my  clover  fields  I  usually  sow  about  50 
pounds  of  gypsum  per  acre  upon  young  clover  and  repeat  early  in 
March  the  following  year.  This  gives  a  very  large  yield  of  hay.  My 
clover  crop  is  probably  as  profitable  as  any  crop  I  grow.  I  estimate  its 
value  one  year  with  another  at  $20  to  $25  per  acre." 


82  % 

Hon.  L.  N.  Bonham,  of  Oxford,  Ohio,  uses  a  different  method  in 
putting  up  clover  hay.  He  says: 

"For  several  years  I  put  up  clover  hay  as  did  my  father  and  other 
Jersey  farmers.  I  have  long  since  abandoned  their  method  and  now  put 
my  clover  hay  in  the  mow  the  same  day  it  is  cut.  The  hay  is  far  better, 
and  the  labor  and  risk  in  making  it  are  far  less.  I  select  a  bright  day 
and  Start  the  mower  as  soon  as  the  dew  is  off.  By  11  o'clock  I  have  cut 
as  much  as  can  be  hauled  in  between  1  and  5  o'clock.  The  clover  is 
then  all  turned  and  shaken  up  loose  before  we  go  to  dinner.  By  one 
o'clock  it  is  dry  enough  to  rake  into  windrows  if  the  day  is  an  average 
hay  day.  No  time  is  lost  now  in  getting  it  into  the  mow.  The  hay  is 
warm  and  free  from  external  moisture.  The  warmer  it  is  the  less  mois- 
ture is  left  on  it.  By  five  o'clock  we  have  it  all  in  the  mow,  if  we  can. 
If  not  all  in  then,  we  prefer  to  leave  it  in  the  windrow  until  near 
noon  the  next  day.  After  we  stop  hauling,  at  5  p.  m.,  the  mower  is 
started  to  cut  what  we  can  haul  in  the  next  day.  The  clover  cut  so  late 
in  the  day  is  not  wet  with  dew,  and  will  not  wilt  enough  to  be  blackened 
by  the  dew.  It  will  be  ready  to  shake  up  and  spread  out  before  ten 
o'clock  the  next  day,  and  by  one  o'clock  we  can  begin  to  haul  it  into 
the  mow. 

"The  clover  hay  thus  made  goes  into  the  mow  bright  and  with  every 
leaf  and  head  left  on  it.  The  secret  of  the  whole  business  is,  it  is  free  from 
external  moisture,  while  the  warmth  of  the  hay  when  it  goes  into  the  mow 
hastens  the  approach  of  the  temperature  of  the  mass  up  to  122  degrees 
when  the  germs  which  cause  increased  fermentation  are  destroyed,  and 
the  hay  keeps  bright  and  sweet,  and  comes  out  fragrant  clover,  with  all 
the  heads  and  leaves  of  good  color.  My  mow  is  28  by  28,  and  as  tight 
as  good  siding  and  strips  painted  can  make  it.  There  are  no  windows  in 
the  sides  to  let  in  air.  The  clover  is  put  in  as  compactly  as  we  can  get 
it,  to  save  room,  and  kept  level,  to  have  the  heat  uniform.  Sometimes 
we  sprinkle  a  half  gallon  of  salt  to  the  load  when  putting  into  the  mow, 
but  this  is  of  doubtful  value. 

"To  exclude  the  air  from  the  top  of  my  clover  mow,  I  often  cover 
with  straw.  But  this  does  not  pack  closely.  I  find  it  better  when  haul- 
ing in  wheat  to  fill  up  over  the  clover  with  wheat.  This  excludes  air, 
and  packs  the  clover  so  that  it  keeps  bright  to  the  very  top.  The  old 
theory  that  the  mow  must  be  open  and  the  clover  thrown  in  loose,  and 
treated  to  'plenty  of  salt,'  which  may  mean  much  or  little,  is  exploded. 
Green  clover  will  keep  green  in  the  silo  if  well  packed  and  the  air  is  ex- 
cluded. Clover  hay,  put  into  the  mow  warm  and  dry,  the  day  it  is  cut, 
will  keep  brighter  and  purer  and  sweeter  than  if  cured  longer  in  the 
field. 

"The  trouble,  however,  in  farmers  adopting  the  method  I  have  suc- 
cessfully used,  is  they  do  not  attach  enough  importance  to  the  fact  that 
the  conditions  named  must  be  followed.  It  will  not  do  to  cut  clover  in 
the  morning  and  haul  it  in  after  sun-down.  It  will  surely  mould  or 
come  out  brown  or  fire  fanged,  simply  because  dew  falls  at  five  o'clock. 
Nor  can  we  cut  clover  and  put  in  the  mow  the  same  day  without  favora- 


83 

ble  conditions  of  sun  and  air.  In  neither  case  will  the  hay  go  in  free  from 
external  moisture." 

It  should  always  be  borne  in  mind  that  clover  hay  will  not  shed  rain. 
The  best  farmers  now  build  open  sheds  in  the  field  for  storing  it.  When 
stacked  it  should  either  be  thatched  or  have  a  thick  top-covering  of 
wheat  straw  or  other  hay.  The  tedder  is  thought  by  many  to  be  indis- 
pensable in  saving  good  clover  hay.  Unquestionably  it  is  of  great  ser- 
vice, and  the  hay  made  by  the  use  of  the  tedder  in  dry,  hot  weather,  is 
superior  to  that  made  without,  but  good  hay  can  be  and  is  made  by  many 
farmers  who  never  saw  a  tedder.  Clover  hay  is  more  difficult  to  cure 
than  hay  from  any  of  the  true  grasses,  and  this  arises  from  the  fact  that 
it  contains  more  water  than  the  true  grasses.  For  this  reason  also,  it  is 
more  difficult  to  keep,  being  more  liable  to  damage  in  the  mow.  It  will 
not  bear  handling  or  transportation  except  when  damp  and  while  it  will 
always  be  a  favorite  hay  for  home  consumption,  it  will  never  be  shipped 
to  distant  markets  like  timothy  hay.  For  horses  and  mules  clover  hay 
is  very  nutritious.  Many  persons  make  a  crop  by  feeding  on  clover  hay 
without  any  grain  whatever  and  the  working  stock  keep  fat.  Clover  is 
also  a  superior  hay  for  cattle,  producing  in  milch  cows  a  fine  flow  of  milk. 
It  makes  the  best  hay  when  the  stalks  are  small  and  stand  thickly  upon 
the  ground. 

SAVING  CLOVER  SEED— All  the  clover  seed  used  in  the  border 
states  should  be  produced  in  them.  Besides,  there  should  be  a  large 
surplus  to  be  sent  to  other  markets,  for  no  section  of  the  Union  will  pro- 
duce, acre  for  acre,  a  larger  quantity.  Six  bushels  per  acre  have  some- 
times been  gathered,  although  the  usual  average  is  about  three  bushels. 
Large  quantities  are  grown  in  and  shipped  from  Bedford,  Maury,  Wil- 
liamson and  other  counties  in  Tennessee. 

As  the  first  crop  of  clover,  coming  to  maturity  in  June,  will  not  per- 
fect its  seed,  this  must  be  removed  either  by  feeding  or  by  mowing  for 
hay.  The  seed  must  be  gathered  from  the  second  crop.  The  quantity  of 
seed  will  depend  much  upon  the  weather.  Should  there  be  much  rain  or 
heavy  winds,  the  yield  will  be  small,  but  when  the  weather  has  been  fine 
.and  calm  and  the  seed  free  from  dock  or  other  noxious  seeds,  the  crop 
will  be  as  remunerative  as  any  other  grown  by  the  farmer.  A  bushel  of 
clover  seed  will  weigh  usually  about  64  pounds,  though  60  pounds  is  the 
standard  bushel  by  the  statute  regulation. 

The  second  crop  of  clover  should  be  allowed  to  stand  until  the  husks 
have  become  quite  brown  and  the  seeds  have  passed  the  milky  state.  It 
should  then  be  mowed  and  permitted  to  lie  upon  the  ground  until  it  is 
well  cured.  After  it  is  cured  rake  it  up  into  swaths.  Rain  will  rather 
benefit  than  injure  it,  making  it  easier  to  separate  the  heads  from  the 
haulm,  which  is  done  by  passing  through  an  ordinary  wheat  separator. 
A  clover  huller  attachment  is  adjusted  to  the  separator  below  the  vibrator, 
which  hulls  the  seeds,  and  they  are  separated  from  the  chaff  by  the  fan, 
care  being  taken  to  shut  off  as  much  air  as  possible  by  closing  the  sliding 
doors.  Machines  are  now  made  especially  for  threshing  clover  seed. 

The  crop  of  seed  can  be  largely  increased  by  mowing  or  feeding  off 
the  first  crop  of  clover  about  the  first  of  June,  and  then  top-dressing  with 


84 

stable  manure.  The  earlier  the  first  crop  is  cut  the  larger  will  be  the  crop 
of  seed.  By  treating  the  clover  fields  in  this  way,  the  yield  of  seed  is 
often  doubled.  Uplands  will  yield  more  seed  than  bottom  lands,  but 
they  should  be  enriched  by  a  liberal  application  of  manure.  About  the 
first  of  September  is  the  time  to  mow  for  seed,  and  the  straw  will  thresh 
all  the  better  for  being  exposed  to  the  weather  for  three  weeks.  The 
'threshing  is  usually  done  in  the  field,  though  the  haulm  may  be  hauled 
up  after  being  thoroughly  dry,  and  stacked  with  a  good  straw  covering, 
or  else  stored  away  under  shelter  on  a  good  tight  floor  until  it  suits  the 
convenience  of  the  farmer  to  thresh.  Care  should  be  taken  not  to  run 
over  or  tramp  upon  the  clover  after  it  is  dried,  as  many  seeds  are  thus 
shelled  out  and  lost.  The  better  plan  is  to  haul  to  the  thresher  from  the 
field  just  as  soon  as  the  straw  is  in  a  proper  condition  to  thresh.  This 
will  save  the  trouble  and  expense  and  loss  of  handling  it  twice. 

Some  farmers  prefer  to  sow  seed  in  the  chaff,  believing  that  a  better 
stand  of  clover  is  thus  secured.  Usually  about  thirty  bushels  in  the  chaff 
are  considered  equivalent  to  one  of  cleaned  seed.  Of  course  this  will  de- 
pend greatly  upon  the  yield  of  seed,  and  experiments  ought  to  be  made 
to  determine  the  relative  amount  to  sow  when  in  chaff. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  and  one,  I  believe,  first  mentioned  by  Mr.  Darwin, 
that  the  bumble  bee  plays  an  important  part  in  the  fertilization  of  this 
plant.  Careful  observation  has  determined  the  fact  that  the  amount  of 
clover  seed  gathered  from  a  particular  field  will,  other  things  being  equal, 
be  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  bumble  bees  that  feed  upon  the  flowers. 
In  the  act  of  feeding  they  gather  the  pollen  from  one  flower  and  transfer 
it  to  the  next  one  upon  which  they  alight,  thus  acting  as  important  agents 
in  the  fertilization  of  the  flower,  and  consequently  in  increasing  the  pro- 
duction of  seed. 

CRIMSON     OR     SCARLET     CLOVER-  ( Trifolium    incamatum.}— 
(Pastures  and  Hay.) 

Within  the  past  decade  crimson  clover  has  become  a  staple  crop  in 
some  of  the  counties  in  Tennessee.  It  is  an  annual  and  grows  to  the 
height  of  three  feet  on  good  soils.  Few  things  in  the  vegetable  world 
present  a  more  beautiful  sight  than  a  field  of  crimson  clover  in  full 
bloom.  It  seems  to  be  better  adapted  to  southern  climates  than  red 
clover  and  it  has  given  satisfaction  at  the  North  Carolina  Experiment 
Station  and  as  far  south  as  Louisiana. 

Prof.  Stubbs,  of  Louisiana,  says:  "It  is  thoroughly  at  home  in 
every  part  of  the  State,  making  a  large  crop  of  excellent  hay.  A  combi- 
nation of  this  crop  and  cowpeas  affords  the  readiest  means  of  quickly 
restoring  worn  out  lands  or  of  furnishing  a  continual  supply  of  fresh 
hay  for  stock." 

A  large  area  of  this  clover  is  sown  every  year  in  Franklin  county, 
Tennessee,  in  the  Belvidere  settlement.  In  answer  to  inquiries  Mr.  Jno. 
Ruch,  of  that  place,  says:  "We  sow  it  in  August  or  September,  using  two 
or  three  gallons  of  seed  to  the  acre.  It  comes  to  maturity  the  last  of 
April  or  first  of  May,  when  it  is  cut  and  cured  for  hay  in  the  same  man- 


85 

ner  as  red  clover  hay.  I  consider  the  hay  as  good,  in  every  particular,  as 
that  made  of  red  clover.  Crimson  clover  has  given  excellent  results  in 
Franklin  county." 

The  advantages  of  crimson  clover  are  chiefly  four: 


Crimson  Clover — Trifolium  incarnatum. 
(U.  S.  Dept.  Agric.) 

1 — It  is  a  good  "catch''  crop  and  when  a  failure  of  red  clover  occurs 
it  may  be  sown  upon  the  same  land  and  so  preserve  the  regular  rotation. 

2 — After  the  clover  has  been  cut  in  early  May,  the  same  land  may  be 
ploughed  and  planted  in  corn. 

3 — It  makes  excellent  pastures  during  the  fall  months  after  the  other 
green  crops  have  dried  up. 


86 

4 — As  a  crop  for  green  manuring  it  ranks  high.  It  is  turned  under 
in  the  spring  as  it  makes  its  growth  during  the  fall  and  winter  months. 
In  this  it  differs  from  all  other  crops  for  green  manuring. 

At  Belvidere  it  is  sown  on  a  deep  clayey  loam  impregnated  with  more 
or  less  of  the  carbonate  of  lime,  but  it  is  not  what  may  be  called  a  cal- 
careous loam.  Crimson  clover  should  be  sown  alone  as  it  will  need  all 
the  land.  For  the  feeding  oi  milch  cows  it  is  held  in  high  esteem  as  it 
induces  a  full  flow  of  rich  milk.  Growing  as  it  does  in  the  fall,  it  pro- 
longs the  season  of  green  food  and  so  increases  the  profits  of  the  dairy. 
A  co-operative  creamery  at  Belvidere  has  its  butter  products  largely  in- 
creased from  the  general  habit  of  the  farmers  in  the  vicinity  of  sowing 
crimson  clover  in  the  fall. 

This  forage  plant  deserves  more  attention  from  the  farmers  of  the 
South  for  dairy  purposes  than  it  has  heretofore  received. 

It  will  yield  from  three  to  ten  bushels  of  seed  per  acre.  Mr.  Ruch 
says  he  has  ma-de  both  these  extremes. 

It  is  generally  believed  in  those  places  where  crimson  clover  has 
been  sown  for  a  number  of  years  that  though  not  equal  to  red  clover  it  is 
a  very  good  substitute.  The  farmers  who  have  grown  it  once  feel  in- 
clined to  continue  to  grow  it,  especially  when  there  is  a  failure  of  red 
clover. 

A  bulletin  from  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  recently 
issued,  has  this  to  say  in  regard  to  a  possible  danger  in  the  use  of  crimson 
clover: 

"The  introduction  of  the  annual  leguminous  plant,  crimson  clover, 
into  the  United.  States  is  comparatively  recent,  but  its  use  as  a  forage 
plant  and  green  manure  is  rapidly  extending.  This  is  easily  explained 
by  the  decided  advantages  this  clover  possesses  of  covering  and  protect- 
ing the  soil  from  washing  and  leaching  during  the  winter,  and  of  fur- 
nishing a  green  manure  for  spring  crops  or  a  succulent  and  nutritious 
food  at  a  time  when  such  food  is  likely  to  be  scarce.  It  has  been  found, 
however,  that  there  is  a  danger  in  the  use  of  the  overripe  clover,  espec- 
ially with  horses,  that  should  .be  carefully  guarded  against.  The  small 
hairs  which  occur  in  the  heads  of  the  clover  are  so  constructed  (when  the 
plant  has  passed  the  flowering  stage)  that  they  collect  together  and  form 
large,  round,  impervious  balls  in  the  intestines  of  horses,  and  many  cases 
have  been  reported  in  which  these  have  caused  the  death  of  animals. 
When  the  balls  have  once  developed  to  such  a  size  that  they  cannot  pass 
through  the  intestine  no  practical  remedy  can  be  suggested.  But  the 
prevention  of  the  difficulty  is  in  most  cases  easy.  The  hairs  of  crimson 
clover  do  not  become  stiff  until  the  plant  has  passed  the  flowering  stage 
and  begun  to  ripen.  It  should  be  made  a  rule,  therefore,  never  to  feed 
crimson  clover  after  the  crop  has  ceased  flowering,  and  especially  never 
to  follow  the  pernicious  practice  of  feeding  stock  with  the  straw  of 
crimson  clover  raised  and  threshed  as  a  seed  crop.  By  guarding  against 
improper  methods  of  feeding  there  is  no  reason  why  crimson  clover 
should  not  continue  to  maintain  its  well-merited  reputation  and  increase 
in  use  as  a  forage  plant  and  green  manure." 

No  reports  from  the  farmers  growing  crimson  clover  in  Tennessee 
make  any  mention  of  having  lost  stock  directly  or  indirectly  by  feeding  it. 


87 

Mr.  J.  Kaserman,  a  very  successful  farmer  in  Franklin  county,  Ten- 
nessee, who  has  sown  crimson  clover  for  many  years,  mentions  one  dis- 
advantage of  crimson  clover  hay,  for  horses  especially,  in  the  fact  that 
the  chaff  causes  a  dust,  which  is  injurious  to  horses.  He,  however,  says 
nothing  in  reference  to  the  formation  of  balls  in  the  stomach  of  horses. 
Mr.  Kaserman  also  says:  "Crimson  clover  is  sown  in  September  or  Octo- 
ber and  ihe  usual  amount  of  seed  sown  per  acre  is  about  ten  pounds.  It 
matures  the  following  May.  and  ought  to  be  cut  for  hay  when  it  is  in  full 
bloom.  The  usual  yield  of  hay  per  acre  on  good  soil  is  from  one  to  one 
and  a  half  tons.  I  do  not  consider  it  as  good  as  red  clover  in  sustaining 
stock.  If  perfectly  cured  it  keeps  about  as  well  as  red  clover  hay,  but 
being  very  sappy  it  is  harder  to  cure.  I  do  not  consider  that  it  has  any 
advantages  over  red  clover,  but  it  is  easier  to  get  a  stand  of  crimson 
clover  than  of  red  clover.  It  is  sown  alone  or  with  winter  oats  to  be  cut 
together  for  hay.  In  this  section  the  yield  of  seed  has  been  from  four  to 
six  bushels  per  acre." 

BUR  CLOVER— SPOTTED   MEDICK— CALIFORNIA   CLOVER. 

( Medicago  maculata. ) — ( Grazing. ) 

Bur  clover  is  admirably  adapted  to  lowlands  that  are  well  drained. 
Sown  in  connection  with  Bermuda  grass  it  is  a  great  desideratum,  inas- 
much as  it  makes  its  principal  growth  during  winter  months  and  dis- 
appears just  about  the  time  Bermuda  grass  begins  to  grow.  Both  to- 
gether make  a  continuous  pasture  for  cattle  and  hogs.  Horses,  however, 
do  not  relish  it.  It  is  unfit  for  growing  in  any  place  where  Bermuda 
grass  will  not  thrive.  In  some  of  the  lands  on  the  Mississippi  River 
it  would  be  a  valuable  addition  to  the  pasture  plants.  It  is  an  annual  and 
so  must  be  sown  every  year,  but  is  hardly  so  valuable  as  the  crimson 
clover,  because  it  will  only  grow  on  very  rich  soils  and  is  not  relished  by 
all  kinds  of  stock.  It  is  worthless  for  hay. 

ALSIKE  CLOVER—  (Trifolium  hybridum.}— (Hay  and  Pasture.) 

Linnaeus  gave  the  specific  name  of  hybridum  to  this  clover  because 
he  imagined  it  to  be  a  hybrid  of  the  white  and  red  clover  as  in  its  ap- 
pearance it  seems  to  be  intermediate  between  the  two.  It  is  a  perennial, 
has  a  slenderer  stalk,  a  narrower  leaf  and  paler  colored  flowers  and  foliage 
than  red  clover.  The  flower  stalks  are  larger,  the  blossoms  more  fra- 
grant and  fuller  of  honey  and  for  this  reason  it  is  sometimes  sown  by  bee- 
keepers for  the  making  of  honey.  The  blooms  are  faintly  tinged  with 
pink  when  they  first  open.  Afterwards  they  deepen  into  a  pale  red. 
The  seed  is  kidney  shaped  and  is  less  than  half  the  size  of  the  seed  of  red 
clover. 

It  is  a  good  idea  to  sow  the  seed  with  red  clover,  as,  being  a  peren- 
nial, the  clover  will  cover  the  ground  when  red  clover  runs  its  biennial 
course  and  alsike  clover  does  not  get  its  full  strength  until  the  third  year 
after  sowing.  It  does  well  also  sown  with  orchard  grass,  for  when  sown 
alone  the  stems  are  so  weak  it  is  liable  to  fall  and  lodge.  The  sturdy 
culms  of  orchard  grass  will  hold  it  up.  It  consorts  well  with  herd's  grass 
also. 


88 

This  clover  is  not  well  adapted  to  dry,  sandy  or  gravelly  soils  with 
porous  or  leachy  subsoils.  It  prefers  moist  clayey  soils.  It  does  best  in 
the  climate  of  Tennessee  on  rich  bottom  lands,  on  deep  clayey  lands,  and 
even  in  the  swampy  lands  where  the  wild  growth  should  be  exterminated 
by  plowing  and  the  land  thoroughly  drained  of  its  surplus  water.  It 
yields  a  very  superior  quality  of  hay  and  a  great  deal  of  it.  A  Michigan 
correspondent  of  the  Western  Rural  mentions  four  tons  of  finely  cured 
hay  as  having  been  cut  from  one  acre  of  land  where  the  soil  had  been 
deeply  broken  and  the  land  was  rich,  moist  and  underdrained.  It  grows 
to  the  height  of  three  and  a  half  feet  on  such  land  and  much  thicker  than 
red  clover.  It  stands  dry  and  cold  weather  better  than  any  other  clover, 
is  not  easily  winter  killed  and  is  a  great  favorite  with  those  who  have 
tested  it.  In  giving  an  estimate  of  its  value  the  correspondent  referred 
to,  says: 

"For  soiling  cows,  horses,  etc.,  when  pastures  fail,  it  is  equal  or  supe- 
rior to  green  corn,  and  attended  with  much  less  trouble  in  the  gathering 
and  feeding.  During  the  past  year,  I  cut  three  crops  from  the  same 
ground,  standing  at  the  first  cutting  from  two  to  three  feet  in  height;  last 
cutting  one  foot  in  height,  as  thick  as  it  could  stand,  small,  delicate 
stalks,  with  numerous  branches,  and  perfectly  glorified  with  a  mass  of 
small  peach-blow  colored  blossoms,  filling  the  air  with  the  most  delight- 
ful and  exhilarating  perfume,  and  swarming  with  bees  every  fair  day. 
The  root  is  like  that  of  red  clover,  but  longer  and  more  fibrous.  The 
haulm  is  small,  tender  and  nutritious;  when  well  cured,  as  it  should  be,  in 
full  bloom,  every  part  will  be  eaten  with  avidity  by  all  kinds  of  stock. 

There  is  no  plant  known  that  will  produce  so  much  good  honey,  but- 
ter, cheese,  beef,  mutton,  wool  and  hay  per  acre,  as  this  plant,  not  even 
excepting  corn.  In  using  the  latter  for  soiling,  you  get  only  the  haulm, 
while  in  the  alsike  you  get  the  haulm  and  a  large  yield  of  honey;  and  if 
the  ground  is  prepared  as  well  by  deep  tilth,  manure,  and  plaster  or  other 
fertilizers,  as  for  corn,  you  will  get  as  much  by  weight  of  the  haulm. 

It  bears  feeding  to  an  enormous  degree.  I  think  its  fattening  qualities 
superior  to  the  famous  blue  grass  of  Kentucky,  and  as  it  will  flourish 
well  on  such  soils  as  I  have  designated,  from  the  Gulf  to  Lake  Superior, 
farmers  can  easily  divine  its  immense  advantage  to  their  pockets.  Be- 
sides, the  expense  of  'seeding  down'  every  three  or  four  years  is  saved. 
It  is  a  great  renovator  and  disintegrator  of  hard,  tenacious  soils.  Its  long 
tap  roots  and  numerous  fibres  reach  deep  for  its  pabulum,  and  thus 
loosen  the  soil  and  endure  drought  well.  Some  think  there  are  two 
kinds  of  this  clover.  I  think  not.  The  difference  in  growth,  etc.,  in 
diverse  localities,  is  owing  to  the  character  of  the  soil.  I  never  saw  any 
but  the  large  kind  on  land  once  covered  with  beech,  maple,  oak,  bass, 
lever  wood,  etc.,  and  I  never  saw  any  but  the  small  kind  on  light,  sandy 
and  gravelly  soils.  Also  on  pebbly  soils  with  calcareous  debris  and  good 
tenacious  subsoil  it  succeeds  well." 

This  clover  is  very  prolific  in  the  yield  of  seed.  From  three  to  eight 
bushels  are  usually  gathered  per  acre  from  a  good  stand.  The  yield  will 
average  probably  five  bushels  per  acre.  In  its  capacity  for  seeding  land 
this  is  equivalent  to  about  fourteen  bushels  of  red  clover  seed,  as  the 


89 

proportions  are  16,000  of  red  clover  and  45,000  of  alsike  clover  seed  in 
an  ounce.  The  seed  varies  from  a  dark  green  to  a  violet  color;  weight 
94  to  100  pounds  per  bushel. 

The  farmers  of  the  South  would  do  well  to  try  this  species  of  clover 
by  sowing  it  with  red  clover  or  herd's  grass  in  the  spring  of  the  year  upon 
bottom  land,  and  upon  mellow  and  moist,  well-drained  clayey  soils.  The 
many  moist  bottoms  along  the  streams  would  suit  it.  The  valley  of  East 
Tennessee  offers  some  excellent  soils  for  its  growth  as  well  as  the  High- 
land Rim  of  Middle  Tennessee,  and  the  uplands  of  Northern  Alabama 
and  Georgia. 

WHITE   CLOVER—  (  Trifolium  repens.}—(For  Pasture.) 

This  hardy  species  of  clover  grows  in  almost  every  part  of  the 
United  vStates  and  Europe.  It  is  said  to  be  the  shamrock  of  Ireland. 
Various  estimates  have  been  made  as  to  its  value,  many  persons  claiming 
that  it  is  totally  worthless,  while  others  place  it  among  the  most  valuable 
of  the  grazing  plants.  In  Tennessee  it  unquestionably  stands  next  to 
blue  grass  for  pastures.  It  is  to  the  pasture  what  red  clover  is  to  the 
meadow.  All  stock,  even  hogs,  will  fatten  on  it,  but  after  its  first  inflo- 
rescence it  salivates  horses.  To  the  beekeeper  it  is  very  valuable,  being 
one  of  the  best  honey-making  plants  in  the  South. 

It  is  rarely  sown  in  any  of  the  states,  but  it  comes  up  spon- 
taneously, sometimes  almost  disappearing  one  year  and  in  another  year 
completely  covering  the  pastures  and  yards.  Farmers  often  speak  of 
white  clover  years  and  this  is  due  to  the  prevalence  of  early  rains  in  the 
spring.  Whenever  blue  grass  is  pastured  too  heavily  white  clover  comes 
to  its  relief  and  supplies  good  grazing  during  the  dryer  months  of  sum- 
mer. It  will  grow  on  almost  any  character  of  soil,  sterile  or  fertile,  cold  or 
warm,  moist  or  dry.  It  is  virtually  a  perennial  plant,  which  gives  it  a  great 
advantage  as  a  pasture  grass  over  red  clover.  Analyses  have  determined 
its  highly  nutritive  qualities.  It  is  said  to  be  richer  in  these  than  blue 
grass.  It  is  not  fit  for  a  meadow  as  its  dwarfy  growth  makes  it  difficult 
to  cut,  though  hay  made  from  it  is  said  to  be  excellent.  A  good  pasture 
of  white  clover  is  by  no  means  to  be  despised  by  thrifty  farmers.  The 
seed  may  be  bought  from  seed  stores  and  sown  at  the  rate  of  about  one 
bushel  for  twelve  acres. 

The  time  of  sowing  is  the  same  as  that  for  red  clover. 

SAINFOIN  OR  ESPARCBT  (Century  Diet)— (Onobrychis  saliva.}— (Hay.) 

This  is  a  perennial  leguminous  plant  resembling  the  pea  more  than  it 
does  clover.  It  has  straggling,  smooth,  tapering  stems  from  two  to 
three  feet  long.  Its  flowery  stalks  are  higher  than  the  leaves,  ending  in  a 
spike  of  crimson  or  variegated  flowers.  This  is  what  the  French  call  a 
sacred  grass  and  is  considered  more  valuable  in  that  country  than  almost 
any  other. 

It  will  grow  upon  dry  calcareous  soils,  which  are  too  sterile  for 
growing  either  clover  or  alfalfa.  The  soil  must  be  well  drained  for  it 
dies  whenever  the  ground  becomes  saturated  with  water.  Sainfoin  re- 
quires two  or  three  years  to  arrive  at  maturity  and  is  rather  difficult  to 


90 

establish  because  the  plants  are  very  delicate  when  young,  but  when  once 
established  it  will  last  a  score  of  years. 

Instances  are  given  in  France  where  it  has  lasted  on  a  single  piece  of 
land,  with  rich  soil,  a  hundred  years.  The  yield  of  hay  is  not  so  great  as 
that  from  red  clover  or  alfalfa,  but  it  is  of  a  very  superior  kind  and  is 
more  nutritious  than  that  of  red  clover.  It  is  highly  valued  as  a  butter- 
making  hay  and  its  seeds  are  said  to  be  superior  to  oats  for  feeding  stock 
and  more  nutritious.  They  are  excellent  for  feeding  to  poultry  to  incite 
them  to  lay. 

Sainfoin  will  stand  a  large  amount  of  heat  though  it  is  sensitive  to 
cold.  The  writer  has  seen  it  growing  in  Stewart  county,  Tennessee,  hav- 
ing been  brought  there  by  a  Swiss  family.  It  would  probably  grow  well 
in  all  parts  of  the  South,  especially  on  dry  soils.  It  requires  two 
bushels  of  seed,  as  usually  cleaned,  for  sowing  an  acre  and  it  should  be 
sown  from  the  first  of  May  to  the  end  of  June  on  well  prepared  land.  In 
order  to  insure  germination  the  seed  must  be  covered  with  a  harrow. 
When  very  clean  seed  are  used  half  as  much  as  has  been  indicated  will 
be  sufficient. 

In  all  those  places  where  the  ground  is  too  dry  or  too  sterile  for 
growing  red  clover,  sainfoin  might  be  introduced  with  profit.  Possibly 
it  would  do  well  upon  the  benches  of  the  Cumberland  mountain  and 
upon  the  siliceous  soils  of  the  Highlands  and  on  the  high  ridgy  lands  of 
East  Tennessee  where  there  is  some  lime  in  the  soils. 

Sainfoin  will  make  from  ten  to  twenty-five  bushels  of  seed  per  acre, 
forty  pounds  being  the  weight  of  a  bushel. 

For  pasturing  it  is  not  a  very  desirable  plant,  as  it  does  not  have  the 
ability  to  withstand  tramping  as  well  as  red  clover. 

MELILOTUS— SWEET  CLOVER— (Melilotus  alba.} 

This  forage  plant  is  highly  commended  as  a  restorative  crop  for  cal- 
careous soils.  It  acts  also  as  a  drainage  plant.  The  roots  descend  to  the 
depth  of  several  feet,  and,  being  large,  they  supply  innumerable  down- 
ward drains  for  carrying  off  stagnant  water.  This  gives  warmth  to  the 
soil  and  permits  the  roots  of  succeeding  crops  to  descend  to  a  greater 
depth  in  search  of  food. 

The  writer  has  often  grown  this  in  a  small  way  in  a  garden  but  his 
experience  is  that  no  stock  will  eat  it.  It  makes  a  splendid  growth  upon 
rich  soils,  attaining  the  height  of  six  feet  or  more.  It  starts  very  early  in 
the  spring  and  soon  becomes  a  conspicuous  object  with  its  bluish  green 
foliage.  It  is  said  by  observant  writers  that  stock  will  soon  learn  to  eat 
and  relish  it.  It  is  a  biennial,  but  it  makes  a  very  luxuriant  growth  the 
first  year  and  two  crops  of  hay  may  be  harvested  during  the  summer 
succeeding  the  spring  in  which  it  is  sown. 

Prof.  S.  M.  Tracy,  of  the  Mississippi  Experiment  Station,  says: 
"While  the  hay  from  this  plant  will  not  sell  as  well  as  that  frotn  Lespe- 
deza,  the  crop  is  heavier,  furnishes  pasture  earlier  in  the  spring,  and  is 
by  far  the  most  valuable  crop  we  have  for  a  natural  fertilizer.  Seed 
must  be  sown  in  August  or  February  at  the  rate  of  half  a  bushel  to  the 
acre." 


Whether  this  plant  is  suitable  for  feeding  stock  or  not  there  is  no 
doubt  it  is  an  excellent  plant  for  building  up  worn-out  soils,  and  for  this 
purpose,  if  for  no  other,  it  may  be  recommended  to  the  farmers  of  the 
South  for  restoring  fertility  to  lands  of  a  calcareous  nature.  It  has  a  dense 
foliage;  it  grows  rapidly;  its  roots  are  abundant;  it  has  the  capacity  like 
clover  of  gathering  nitrogen  from  the  atmospnere;  it  is  more  hardy  than 
clover  and  it  is  much  easier  to  secure  a  stand  upon  run-down  soils..  It 
therefore  supplies  a  want  for  some  localities  where  the  land  needs  humus 
and  an  increased  supply  of  nitrogen. 

If  the  statement  that  stock  soon  learn  to  love  it  is  true,  it  makes  it 
still  more  valuable  to  the  farmer,  for  the  immense  amount  of  dry  forage 
which  can  be  made  from  it  when  grown  upon  soils  even  of  moderate  fer- 
tility, is  almost  incredible. 

ALFALFA  OR  LUCERN—  (Medicago  saliva.}— (Hay.) 

Alfalfa,  or  lucern,  stands  unrivalled  among  all  the  forage  plants  for 
its  abundant  yield,  its  longevity,  its  hardiness  when  once  established,  its 
extended  habitat  and  its  great  antiquity.  From  the  vast  highlands  of 
Western  Asia  it  was  introduced  into  Greece  at  the  time  of  the  Persian 
War,  470  years  B.  C.  It  was  cultivated  extensively  by  the  Romans,  was 
carried  into  France  probably  when  Caesar  invaded  Gaul,  and  then  into 
Spain.  From  Spain  it  came  to  Mexico  and  then  to  South  America,  and 
from  South  America  to  California.  It  was  introduced  into  New  York 
before  it  was  brought  to 
California. 

Alfalfa  is  now  cultivated 
to  some  extent  in  every 
State  and  Territory  in  the 
Union,  and  in  every  State 
and  Territory  it  has  met 
with  more  or  less  suc- 
cess. Wherever  it  has  been 
well  established  it  has  re- 
ceived great  favor.  It  is  a 
child  of  the  sun  and  revels 
in  heat  that  would  destroy 
any  other  species  of  clover. 
Its  nutritive  elements  are 
almost  identical  with  those 
of  red  clover.  It  has  one 
advantage,  however,  of  red 
clover,  in  that  it  is  a  peren- 
nial plant.  It  does  not  at  all 
resemble  clover  in  its  ap- 
pearance. The  purple  pea- 
like  flowers  are  in  long, 
loose  clusters  or  racemes, 
and  are  scattered  over  the 

entire    plant.  Alfalfa- Medicago  saliva.     (U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agric.) 


92 

SOILS  ADAPTED  TO  ITS  GROWTH— Alfalfa  does  not  grow 
well  on  any  soil  that  has  a  hard  pan  or  on  thin  soils.  It  is  a  deep  rooted 
plant  and  must  have  a  deep  soil.  Wherever  the  roots  find  a  permeable 
soil  they  will  descend  to  a  great  depth  and  on  river  banks  they  have  been 
traced  to  the  depth  of  60  or  70  feet.  On  the  rich  sandy  soils  of  the  South 
it  is  invaluable,  and  will  grow  luxuriantly  and  make  enormous  yields  of 
hay.  Underlying  rocks  or  impervious  subsoils,  or  sour,  marshy  soils,  or 
crswfishy  soils,  or  stiff,  clayey  soils  are  fatal  to  its  growth.  So  is  stagnant 
water.  It  will  grow  on  favorable  soils  at  almost  any  height  from  sea 
level  up  to  an  elevation  of  7000  feet. 

Alfalfa  is  not  affected  so  much  by  altitude  as  by  the  depth  and 
warmth  of  the  soil  and  the  depth  of  the  water-table  beneath  the  surface. 
A  rich,  sandy  loam,  limy  with  a  porous  subsoil  suits  it  best.  A  region  in 
which  the  rainfall  is  excessive  is  not  favorable  for  the  growth  of  alfalfa  as 
the  plants  are  quickly  killed  even  by  surface  water.  Nor  is  the  presence 
of  a  large  proportion  of  iron  in  the  soil  favorable  to  the  growth  of  this 
plant.  Soils  that  have  a  large  content  of  lime,  phosphoric  acid,  potash 
and  magnesia  are  those  best  adapted  to  its  growth,  but  lime  seems  to  be 
the  most  essential.  A  considerable  amount  of  sand  in  the  soil  is  not 
objectionable. 

HOW  TO  PREPARE  THE  SOIL— The  soil  should  be  prepared  in 
the  most  thorough  manner.  It  must  be  finely  pulverized;  it  must  be 
broken  deeply  and  subsoiled  and  it  must  be  free  from  any  trash  or  weeds. 
It  is  better  to  sow  alfalfa  after  some  hoed  crop,  as  tobacco,  cotton,  pota- 
toes and  root  crops  such  as  beets,  carrots,  turnips  and  rutabagas.  In 
the  middle  South  the  seed  may  be  sown  in  the  fall  or  spring.  October  and 
March  are  the  best  months.  It  is  best  to  sow  the  seed  in  drills  from  15  to 
20  inches  apart.  Twenty  to  twenty-five  pounds  of  seed  per  acre  will  be 
required.  When  the  plants  have  come  up  and  grown  high  enough  a  small 
cultivator  should  be  run  between  the  rows  so  as  to  destroy  any  grass  or 
weeds  that  may  have  made  their  appearance.  Many  persons  sow  the 
seed  broadcast  but  if  this  is  dene  it  must  be  upon  land  that  has  been  kept 
free  from  any  noxious  weeds  by  crops  or  clover. 

Alfalfa  when  young  is  an  exceedingly  delicate  plant  and  requires  much 
nursing.  It  is  sown  by  some  persons  with  oats  or  wheat  but  in  the  cli- 
mate of  Tennessee  when  so  sown  the  young  plants  rarely  survive  the 
summer  heat.  No  crop  requires  more  extraordinary  preparation  to  se- 
cure a  good  stand  than  alfalfa,  but  it  should  be  remembered  that  one 
preparation  will  last  for  a  generation,  for  if  it  is  planted  upon  suitable  soil 
and  a  good  stand  obtained  it  may  yield  luxuriant  crops  for  thirty  or  forty 
years.  It  rarely  happens  that  alfalfa  will  grow  tall  enough  the  first  year 
or  will  be  sufficiently  free  from  weeds  to  be  mowed  for  hay,  yet  if  it  has 
been  sown  broadcast  in  the  spring  it  will  be  wise  management  to  run  the 
mower  over  the  land  as  often  as  weeds  and  grass  may  grow  high  enough 
to  cut.  It  reaches  its  best  growth  during  the  third  year.  When  properly 
managed  up  to  that  period  the  number  of  cattle  which  can  be  kept  in 
good  condition  on  an  acre  by  soiling  throughout  the  whole  season  sur- 
passes belief.  It  is  no  sooner  mown  than  it  pushes  out  fresh  shoots,  and 
wonderful  as  the  growth  of  clover  sometimes  is,  that  of  alfalfa  is  far  more 


rapid.  Upon  soils  suitable  for  it  it  will  last  for  many  years,  shooting  its 
roots — tough  and  fibrous  almost  as  those  of  liquorice — downward  for 
nourishment,  until  they  are  altogether  out  of  the  reach  of  drought.  In  the 
dryest  and  most  sultry  weather  when  every  blade  of  grass  droops  for 
want  of  moisture,  alfalfa  will  hold  up  its  stems  as  fresh  and  green  as  in  a 
showery  spring. 

Alfalfa  has  been  fully  tested  in  Tennessee,  Georgia,  Alabama  and 
Kentucky,  and  has  given  great  satisfaction.  Horses  are  very  fond  of  it, 
and  it  is  claimed  by  many  that  they  require  no  other  food,  except  when 
they  have  been  at  work.  Five  tons  of  good  hay  may  be  made  to  the 
acre.  It  is  estimated  that  five  horses  may  be  supported  during  the  entire 


CUTTING  AI,FAI,FA. 

year  from  one  acre  of  alfalfa  in  full  growth.  It  is  ready  for  the  mower  a 
month  before  red  clover,  and  springs  up  long  before  the  usual  pasture 
grasses. 

ALFALFA  FOR  PASTURE— Alfalfa  is  indifferently  suited  for  pas- 
ture. The  tramping  of  stock  upon  the  land  compacts  it  so  much  that 
the  plants  rapidly  deteriorate.  It  is  often  pastured  in  the  west  but  rarely 
when  it  is  intended  for  making  hay,  as,  when  once  pastured,  so  many 
roots  are  destroyed  as  to  greatly  diminish  the  yield  of  forage.  It  is,  how- 
ever, extensively  used  as  a  pasture  for  hogs  and  they  do  not  seem  to  injure 
it  as  much  as  heavier  stock.  One  acre  of  alfalfa  will  furnish  abundant 
forage  for  ten  to  twenty  hogs  throughout  the  season.  It  is  a  great  pork 
producer. 


94 

Mr.  Jared  G.  Smith,  the  Assistant  Agrostologist  of  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture,  states  that  ten  pigs  put  on  a  field  of  it  will 
gain  100  pounds  each  during  the  season  from  May  to  September.  He 
says  that  pigs  will  come  out  of  the  field  in  autumn  in  capital  condition  to 
fatten  with  corn  or  small  grain.  For  a  hog  pasture  alfalfa  should  be 
mowed  once  or  twice  during  the  summer  so  that  young  and  tender  her- 
bage may  be  supplied,  which  is  more  nutritious  than  the  forage  from 
older  plants. 

ALFALFA  HAY — It  requires  much  skill  to  properly  cure  alfalfa 
hay.  Being  ranker  usually  than  red  clover,  and  cut  when  the  first  blooms 
begin  to  appear,  it  is  full  of  sap  and  must  be  managed  with  great  discre- 
tion and  judgment.  The  best  method  of  saving  the  hay  is  to  cut  it  in  the 
morning  after  the  dew  has  been  dissipated.  It  should  lie  in  the  sun  until 
it  is  wilted,  then  raked  into  windrows;  after  remaining  for  24  hours  it  may 
be  carried  to  the  barns  or  open  sheds,  or  stacked  in  the  field.  It  should 
be  handled  just  as  little  as  possible.  It  sheds  its  leaves  much  more  easily 
than  red  clover  and,  as  the  leaves  are  the  most  nutritious  part  of  the  hay, 
handling  greatly  impairs  its  value. 

In  wet  weather  it  is  very  difficult  to  save  alfalfa  hay  without  mould- 
ing. If  a  rain  should  fall  upon  it,  while  in  the  windrow,  hard  enough  to 
pass  through  it,  it  should  be  shaken  up  just  as  soon  as  the  sun  comes  out, 
but  the  sun  does  great  damage  to  it  by  drying  the  leaves  and  so  causing 
them  to  shatter  when  the  hay  is  being  handled.  Therefore  the  best  plan 
in  such  a  case  is  to  throw  the  windrows  into  small  cocks  before  the  leaves 
are  thoroughly  dry,  but  these  cocks  must  be  small  enough  for  the  air  to 
circulate  through  them.  A  hard  rain  will  diminish  the  value  of  the  hay, 
under  any  circumstances,  fully  one-half.  If  very  much  injured  it  should 
be  used  as  a  top-dressing.  It  will  be  more  valuable  employed  for  this 
purpose  than  for  hay.  In  sub-tropical  regions  the  hay  may  be  cut  seven 
or  eight  times  a  year.  The  writer  has  seen  it  growing  in  the  northern 
part  of  Mexico  with  such  luxuriance  that  it  seemed  almost  impossible  for 
an  ordinary  mower  to  cut  it.  In  the  State  of  Chihuahua,  upon  bottom 
lands  where  alfalfa  is  irrigated  after  each  cutting,  the  yield  sometimes 
reaches  fifteen  tons  in  a  single  year.  It  is  cut  every  four  weeks  and  the 
seasons  last  from  February  to  November.  With  the  stimulating  effects 
of  heat  and  moisture  upon  the  rich  soils  in  the  valleys  of  that  region  the 
amount  of  hay  which  may  be  obtained  from  a  single  acre  is  often  great 
enough  to  supply  the  demands  of  a  considerable  ranch.  Alfalfa  hay  is 
rich  in  protein  but  it  is  deficient  in  fat  and  carbohydrates.  It  is  therefore 
recommended  that  some  of  the  coarser  fodders,,  such  as  wheat  or  oat 
straw,  millet  or  root  crops,  be  added  to  the  feed.  Prof.  Smith  says  that 
"one  ton  of  alfalfa  hay  and  three  tons  of  green  fodder  will  furnish  food  for 
one  milch  cow  of  a  thousand  pound  weight  for  136  days  without  notable 
loss  of  any  of  the  digestible  compounds  in  the  forage." 

There  is  no  better  hay,  however,  for  all  kinds  of  domestic  animals  and 
especially  for  young  and  growing  cattle  and  horses,  and  for  sheep. 
Alfalfa  is  well  adapted  to  the  use  of  persons  living  in  small  towns  or  vil- 
lages who  have  a  lot  they  wish  to  devote  to  hay  for  a  horse  and  a  cow. 
No  other  kind  of  forage  crop  will  equal  it  in  the  quantity  and  quality  of 


95 

its  produce,  for  all  experience  has  demonstrated  that  it  is  as  good  as  the 
best.  From  such  a  lot  alfalfa  may  be  cut  green  and  fed  every  night  and 
morning.  Care  must  be  taken,  however,  not  to  feed  too  much,  or  to  feed 
it  to  cattle  when  it  is  wet,  as  it  is  liable  to  produce  bloat  or  hoven.  Sheep 
are  also  liable  to  be  affected  in  the  same  way,  but  horses  and  hogs  are  not. 

Prof.  Smith  warns  the  orchardists  against  planting  it  in  an  orchard. 
The  roots  descend  so  much  deeper  than  the  roots  of  the  fruit  trees  that 
the  latter  are  often  killed.  It  is  a  good  forerunner  for  an  orchard  because 
the  roots  penetrate  the  subsoil  deeply  and  in  their  decay  furnish  an  ex- 
cellent fertilizer  for  fruit  trees,  inasmuch  as  the  alfalfa  roots  have  the 
power  to  collect  nitrogen  from  the  air  just  as  other  leguminous  plants, 
and  the  field  is  greatly  enriched. 

In  an  analysis  of  the  soils  upon  which  alfalfa  is  grown  it  is  found  that 
they  differ  widely  in  their  chemical  composition.  However,  the  carbonate 
of  potassium  and  the  carbonate  of  lime  are  usually  the  most  abundant  in- 
gredients, followed  by  the  phosphate  of  lime.  In  clayey  and  chalky  soils 
the  carbonate  of  lime  reaches  nearly  50  per  cent.  Alfalfa  will  produce 
the  largest  quantity  of  forage  for  domestic  animals  and  will,  at  the  same 
time,  enrich  the  lands  upon  which  it  is  grown. 

COW  PEAS—  (Vigna  catiang,}  -(Pasture,  Ensilage  and  Dry  Forage.) 

No  agricultural  product  of  the  South  has  come  so  rapidly  into  well 
merited  and  almost  universal  favor  within  the  past  twenty  years  as  cow 
peas.  Though  they  were  introduced  into  South  Carolina  over  150  years 
ago  it  is  but  within  recent  years  that  they  have  been  grown  in  all  the 
Southern  States.  They  are  now  a  staple  cro-p  in  the  border  states  and  are 
grown  in  every  portion  of  them.  Twenty  years  ago  their  cultivation  was 
confined  mainly  to  the  cotton  growing  districts,  but  at  present  they  have 
taken  to  a  large  extent  the  place  of  clover,  and  especially  where  the  lands 
have  become  "clover  sick,"  or  the  clover  crop  uncertain.  Cowpeas,  in  fact, 
richly  deserve  to  be  called  the  "clover  of  the  South."  It  is  a  leguminous 
plant  and  appropriates  nitrogen  from  the  atmosphere  as  all  other  plants 
of  the  same  family  do.  They  supply  as  much  humus  to  the  soil  as  clover, 
and  may  be  successfully  grown  upon  soils  that  are  so  sterile  clover  would 
wither  and  die  on  them. 

There  are  many  varieties  or  subvarieties  of  the  cowpea.  These 
varieties  often  take  local  names  derived  from  the  persons  who  introduced 
them.  The  best  established  varieties  for  the  Southern  States  are  the 
eureka  No.  1,  the  unknown,  clay  and  black;  in  the  Central  and  Northern 
section  the  eureka  No.  2,  black,  black  eye,  whippoorwill  and  Carolina. 
Some  of  these  are  bunch  varieties  and  some  trailing  or  climbing. 

SOILS  FOR  COWPEAS— One  of  the  greatest  advantages  which 
the  cowpea  possesses  over  every  other  forage  or  fertilizing  crop  grown  is 
its  adaptability  to  every  soil.  The  writer  has  seen  it  growing  with  strong 
foliage  upon  a  dozen  different  soils  in  the  State  of  Tennessee.  Some 
varieties  seem  to  prefer  one  soil,  and  some  another,  but  all  varieties  will 
make  a  satisfactory  growth  upon  any  soil.  But  the  cowpea  is  especially 
valuable  for  dry  sandy  soils,  inasmuch  as  clover  rarely  does  well  upon 
such  soils. 


96 


The  peas  may  be  sown  at  any  time  from  the  first  of  May  until  the  last 
of  July.  It  takes  from  sixty  to  eighty  days  for  them  to  mature.  The  soil 
may  be  prepared  by  breaking  it  with  a  two  horse  plow.  The  peas  should 
then  be  sown  at  the  rate  of  one  bushel  and  a  half  per  acre  and  the  ground 
afterwards  well  harrowed.  Some  farmers  prefer  to  drill  the  peas  in  rows 
two  and  a  half  to  three  feet  apart,  the  neas  being  at  intervals  of  one  or 
two  inches  in  the  row.  After  they  have  come  up  a  cultivator  should  be 
run  between  the  rows.  Peas  furnish  a  large  amount  of  feed  when  planted 
between  the  corn  rows  at  the  last  plowing  of  the  corn.  The  bush  varieties 
ripen  soonest  but  the  California  cowpea,  the  clay,  pea  and  the  black  pea 
are  more  profitable  as  they  do  not  rot  so  readily  in  wet  weather  and  will 
remain  sound  and  keep  a  large  number  of  stock  the  best  part  of  the  winter 
after  the  corn  has  been  gathered.  The  whippoorwill  pea  planted  by  itself 
will  give  the  earliest  returns. 

Stubble  ground  after  oats  or  wheat  is  turned  to  good  account  by 
breaking  and  sowing  it  with  peas.  The  pasture  comes  on  at  a  time  when 
it  is  most  needed.  In  the  southern  part  of  Tennessee  and  in  Northern 
Alabama  a  crop  of  peas  grown  on  stubble  land  goes  a  long  ways  towards 
fattening  hogs  for  slaughter. 

COWPEAS  FOR  HAY— It  is  generally  conceded  that  when  prop- 
erly harvested  and  cured  cowpea  hay  is  the  equal  of  red  clover  hay  in 
every  particular  and  indeed  much  richer  in  protein.  The  only  exception 
to  this  general  admission  as  to  the  value  of  cowpea  hay  comes  from  the 
Kansas  Experiment  Station,  where  it  is  reported  that  stock  would  not 
eat  the  vines  green,  cured  or  in  ensilage. 

Recent  experiments  at  this  Experiment  Station  go  to  show  that  in  two 
tons  of  timothy  hay  and  in  three  tons  of  cowpea  hay,  each  the  product  of 
one  acre,  the  following  results  were  obtained: 

FERTILIZING  MATERIALS. 


NITROGEN 

PHOSPHORIC  ACID 

POTASH 

WORTH 

Timothy  —  25  Ibs  at  12  cts 

10  Ibs  at  5  cts 

18  Ibs.  at  5  cts. 

$4.40 

Cowpeas  —  58  Ibs.  at  12  cts  

15  Ibs.  at  5  ct... 

40  Ibs.  at  5  cts. 

9.71 

FOOD   MATERIALS. 


• 

PROTEIN 

CARBOHYDRATES 

FATS 

Timothy 

118  Ibs. 

15CO  Ibs 

50  Ibs 

Cowpeas 

500  Ibs. 

1700  Ibs 

87  Ibs. 

"We  see,  thus,  that  legumes  furnish  three  to  four  times  as  much  pro- 
tein and  more  carbohydrates  and  fats  than  common  hay.  They  contain 
over  twice  as  much  nitrogen  and  twice  as  much  potash.  This  nitro-r 
gen  is  derived  from  the  air,  and  removing  it  does  not  deplete  the  soil. 
The  best  plan  is,  thus,  to  feed  leguminous  plants  and  return  to  the  soil  the 
manure,  which  will  still  contain  four-fifths  of  all  the  fertilizing  elements. 
As  nitrogen  of  the  air  is  the  cheapest  source  of  nitrogen  for  plants,  so  it 


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is  the  cheapest  source  of  protein  for  animals.  Soiling  is  a  good  plan  for 
dairymen.  Save  the  manure.  Grow  more  legumes.  They  furnish  the 
cheapest  manure  for  the  soil  and  the  cheapest  food  for  stock,  because  they 
obtain  from  the  air  the  nitrogen  necessary  for  plants  and  animals,  which 
costs  12  to  15  cents  a  pound." 

The  director  of  the  Delaware  Station  testifies  that  in  one  experiment 
the  yield  of  dry  hay  per  acre  was  2353  pounds,  which  contained  58  pounds 
fat,  147  pounds  ash,  320  pounds  protein,  1596  pounds  fibre  and  carbohy- 
drates and  232  pounds  of  moisture.  Comparing  it  with  wheat  bran  it 
was  shown  that  the  bran  leads  in  fat,  but  in  all  other  respects  the  dried 
vines  excel. 

"The  proper  stage  for  cutting  peas  for  hay,"  says  the  Hon.  H.  M. 
Polk,  "is  when  the  first  pods  begin  to  turn  yellow  and  while  the  leaves 
are  green  and  the  stems  soft.  The  greatest  care  must  be  exercised  in 
curing  cowpeas  for  hay.  The  vines  are  full  of  moisture  and  they  will  not 
shed  water.  They  should  be  cut  in  clear  weather  after  the  dew  is  off  and 
treated  very  much  as  clover  when  cut  for  hay.  The  great  end  to  be  ac- 
complished is  to  cure  the  vines  to  the  extent  of  getting  rid  of  a  part  of 
the  moisture  without  having  the  leaves  burned  by  the  sun.  When  exposed 
too  long  to  the  sun  the  leaves  become  dry,  fall  off  the  stems  and  are  lost. 
When  put  up  too  green  and  too  compactly,  they  heat',  and  when  fermen- 
tation of  the  juices  in  the  vine  and  unripe  pods  occurs,  the  hay  is  seriously 
damaged,  if  not  completely  spoiled.  Mildewed  hay  of  any  kind  is  very 
poor  food  for  stock,  and  when  eaten  at  all  it  is  only  taken  from  necessity 
to  ward  off  starvation.  Some  planters  house  their  pea  hay  in  open  sheds, 
or  loosely  in  barns,  with  rails  so  fixed  as  to  prevent  compacting.  Others 
stack  in  the  open  air  around  poles  on  which  are  left  limbs  from  two  to 
four  feet  long,  to  keep  the  mass  of  vines  open  to  the  air..  The  top  of  the 
stack  must  be  covered  with  hay  or  straw  that  will  shed  water." 

COWPEAS  AS  A  SOIL  RESTORER— Not  even  clover  surpasses 
the  cowpea  as  a  soil  renovator.  The  most  badly  worn  and  abused  soil 
may  be  quickly  brought  to  a  condition  for  profitable  production  by  plant- 
ing a  succession  of  pea  crops  upon  it.  Nor  are  the  best  results  obtained 
by  plowing  under  the  pea  vines  when  green.  Careful  experiments  made 
at  the  Georgia  Station  show: 

(1)  That  the  best  disposition  of  a  crop  of  field  peas  is  to  convert  the 
vines  into  hay. 

(2)  The  next  best  is  to  permit  the  peas  to  ripen  and  gather  them  (or 
pasture  them.) 

(3)  Turning  the  pea  vines  under  green  gave  the  poorest  economic 
results. 

To  which  the  director  adds  the  following  note: 

"It  may  be  truly  said  that  the  practice  of  turning  under  a  crop  of 
cowpea  vines — read}'  for  the  mower,  and  in  a  few  days  for  the  barn  and 
for  the  cattle — has  no  more  reason  to  sustain  it  than  would  the  practice  of 
turning  under  a  crop  of  wheat,  oats,  corn  or  cotton  at  its  most  vigorous 
stage  of  growth.  Nearly  every  form  of  stock  food  would  be  a  valuable 
and  effective  fertilizer  if  applied  immediately  and  directly  to  the  soil;  but 
the  farmer  in  an  economic  sense  can  no  more  afford  to  manure  his  soil 


with  a  crop  of  pea  vines  that  are  ready  to  mow,  than  he  can  to  sow  good, 
sound  wheat  bran  on  his  land  as  a  fertilizer." 

Of  the  capacity  of  the  cowpea  as  a  fertilizing  agent  Prof.  Stubbs,  of 
the  Louisiana  Experiment  Station,  says: 

"Valuable  as  this  plant  is  for  its  vine  and  fruit  as  food,  its  superlative 
excellence  lies  in  the  property  which  it  has  of  restoring  worn  soils.  This 
property  it  shares  with  all  leguminous  plants,  but  it  surpasses  them  all  in 
producing  the  maximum  results  in  a  minimum  of  time.  Clovers,  trefoil, 
lupine  and  alfalfa  are  used  in  different  countries  as  soil  renovators.  They 
are  planted  in  the  fall  or  spring  and  occupy  the  ground  the  entire  season 
or  longer  for  good  results.  In  the  South  the  cowpea  is  planted  in  the  late 
spring  or  early  summer  and  the  crops  of  vines  or  peas  are  harvested  or 
buried  for  fertilizing  purposes  in  early  fall.  The  growth  and  develop- 
ment of  this  plant  is  both  rapid  and  enormous,  particularly  when  planted 
on  good  land.  It  perhaps  assimilates  more  plant  food  in  a  short  time 
than  any  other  leguminous  plant. 

This  plant  in  common  with  all  others  of  the  pulse  family,  assimilates 
the  nitrogen  of  the  air  and  if  phosphates,  potash  and  lime  be  present  in 
the  soil,  it  will  grow  with  great  rapidity  and  luxuriance.  The  manner  of 
assimilation  of  nitrogen  has  recently  been  patiently  investigated  by  scien- 
tists, and  while  the'  exact  process  by  which  it  is  accomplished  is  not  yet 
clearly  understood,  the  primary  cause  is  clearly  shown.  If  a  farmer  will 
pull  up  carefully,  with  its  roots,  a  pea  vine  plant  from  his  field,  and  ex- 
amine closely  each  rootlet,  he  will,  if  he  has  selected  a  healthy  growing 
specimen,  find  each  one  covered  with  wart-like  protuberances  or  tubercles. 
These  tubercles,  if  examined  under  a  powerful  microscope,  will  be  found 
filled  with  micro-organisms  called  bacteria.  They  are  living  on  the  plant 
and  are  drawing  from  it  the  mineral  matter  requisite  for  their  existence. 
Simultaneously,  however,  they  are  assimilating  the  free  nitrogen  of  the 
air  which  reaches  them  through  the  porosity  of  the  soil.  These  bacteria 
have  a  very  ephemeral  existence  but  great  facility  for  rapid  multiplication. 
Hence  millions  die  every  few  moments.  This  living  togethe-  of  the  plant 
and  its  seeming  parasite,  each  acting  as  a  purveyor  of  food  for  the  other, 
is  a  most  remarkable  discovery  made  almost  simultaneously  by  Dr.  W. 
O.  Atwater  of  this  country,  and  Hellriegel  of  Germany.  While  it  has 
long  been  known  that  leguminous  plants  had  these  nodules  on  their  roots, 
and  longer  still  that  they  were  in  some  way  nitrogen  gatherers,  and  there- 
fore soil  improvers,  yet  the  relations  between  these  nodules  and  the  plant 
were  determined  only  a  few  years  since  by  these  distinguished  scientists." 

Much  more  might  be  written  to  show  the  great  value  of  the  pea  crop. 
Summing  up  its  chief  merits  we  have: 

1 — The  pea  will  thrive  upon  every  variety  of  soil  and  will  grow  on 
land  too  poor  to  grow  clover. 

2 — It  will  produce  a  heavy  and  rich  crop  to  be  returned  to  the  soil 
in  a  shorter  period  than  any  other  green  manuring  crop. 

3 — On  the  same  land  in  one  year  two  crops  can  be  grown,  but  it 
requires  two  years  for  clover  to  produce  a  hay  crop,  so  it  will  be  seen  that 
four  crops  of  peas  may  be  grown  in  the  same  time  as  one  crop  of  clover. 

4 — The  pea  crop  feeds  lightly  upon  the  soil  but  largely  upon  the  at- 


99 

mosphere,  appropriating  nitrogen  through  the  agency  of  the  bacteria  that 
infest  its  roots. 

5 — It  is  one  of  the  best  preparatory  crops  for  wheat,  as  it  leaves  the 
soil  in  excellent  condition,  adding  a  large  content  of  nitrogen  which  is  an 
essential  element  in  the  growing  of  wheat. 

G — The  rapidity  of  its  growth  makes  it  the  only  crop  in  the  South 
that  may  be  used  as  a  manurial  crop  between  the  harvesting  of  grain  and 
the  sowing  of  it  on  the  same  land. 

7 — It  grows  as  vigorously  as  clover  and  in  connection  with  that  plant 
makes  the  South  peculiarly  rich  in  those  vegetable  agents  that  improve 
the  soil. 

8 — It  may  be  grown  in  connection  with  the  corn  crop,  furnishing 
almost  as  much  nutriment  as  the  corn  crop  itself,  with  a  positive  benefit 
to  the  land. 

9 — It  is  a  substantial  factor  in  the  production  of  cheap  beef,  pork,  milk 
and  butter. 

10 — It  doubles  the  capacity  of  the  land  for  wintering  stock,  and  gives 
double  the  material  for  making  manure  heaps. 

11 — The  galled  and  waste  places  in  the  South  can  be  more  quickly 
and  cheaply  restored  by  a  judicious  cultivation  of  the  pea,  and  by  proper 
rotation  of  other  crops  with  it,  than  in  any  other  way. 

12 — By  adding  humus  it  preserves  the  humidity  of  the  soil  and  so 
enables  the  crops  to  resist  droughts. 

13 — The  vines  of  cowpeas  furnish  the  very  best  material  for  ensilage. 

14 — The  composition  of  cowpeas  and  pea  vine  hay  shows  that  they 
have  a  very  high  feeding  value  for  all  domestic  animals. 

PEANUTS—  (Arachis  hypogaea.}~($orzgt  for  Cattle  and  Seed  for 

Hogs.) 

Peanuts  have  long  been  a  staple  crop  in  some  portions  of  the  South. 
They  were  introduced  into  Tennessee  from  North  Carolina  about  sixty 
years  ago  and  for  a  long  time  the  crop  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  most 
profitable  that  was  made  in  the  State.  Within  Yecent  years,  however,  the 
price  has  fallen  so  low  that  the  quantity  raised  has  sensibly  decreased. 

Two  varieties  are  grown  in  Tennessee,  the  red  and  the  white. 

The  red  is  an  upright  grower  and  produces  a  small  nut,  the  epidermis 
or  outer  coating  of  which  is  dark  red  in  color. 

The  white  grows  with  spreading  branches  that  lie  flat  on  the  ground. 
These  branches  bear  peanuts  almost  throughout  their  entire  length.  It 
is  highly  important  in  growing  white  peanuts  to  have  the  land  very  mel- 
low so  as  to  permit  the  bearing  "spikelet"  to  penetrate  the  ground.  The 
white  peanuts  command  a  better  price  than  the  red.  The  pods  are  larger 
and  whiter  and  present  altogether  a  much  better  appearance. 

A  few  Spanish  peanuts  are  grown  in  places.  They  are  earlier  than 
the  other  varieties  and  have  an  upright  growth  like  the  red.  They  mature 
a  larger  proportion  of  the  nuts,  so  that,  though  the  nuts  are  small,  there 
are  fewer  inferior  nuts  or  ''pops."  There  is  another  advantage  which  is 
.claimed  for  this  variety  and  that  is  that  the  pods  cluster  around  the  vines 
so  closely  that  when  the  vine  is  pulled  up  nearly  every  nut  clings  to  it, 


100 

making  the  loss  very  inconsiderable  in  harvesting.  The  flavor  of  the 
Spanish  nut  is  very  delicate  and  the  kernel  does  not  differ  materially  in 
chemical  composition  from  the  Tennessee  nut.  except  in  its  larger  content 
of  water.  Many  people,  however,  prefer  the  larger  nuts  and  so  these 
usually  outsell  the  Spanish  peanut,  but  the  Spanish  variety  is  a  much 
surer  crop.  When  the  white  variety  by  reason  of  bad  seasons  makes  a 
comparative  failure,  the  Spanish  peanut  often  makes  a  large  yield  and  it 
is  also  more  valuable  for  the  feeding  of  hogs  than  the  white  peanuts.  It 
is  said  that  when  it  is  planted  in  Tennessee  in  a  few  years  it  grows  as 
large  as  the  Tennessee  nut.  Extremely  warm  weather  is  not  necessary 
for  the  fruitage  of  the  peanut.  Cool  weather  will  cause  the  pods  to  form 
as  readily  as  the  hottest  weather  in  July.  It  requires  five  months  to  ma- 
ture the  white  variety.  The  Spanish  variety  will  mature  in  about  four 
months. 

The  best  peanuts  are  planted  early  and  therefore  an  early  spring  is 
desirable,  with  no  beating  rains,  especially  if  the  land  is  strongly  argilla- 
ceous, for  when  the  ground  is  baked  the  delicate  young  stem  cannot  pene- 
trate the  hard  crust.  A  bad  stand  then  results,  which  is  scarcely  to  be 
remedied  by  replanting.  The  regions  growing  the  best  nuts  for  eating 
are  embraced  in  Virginia,  Tennessee  and  Kentucky.  The  extreme 
Southern  States  grow  the  peanuts  fully  as  well  as  the  states  mentioned, 
but  they  contain  so  much  oil  as  to  impair  their  flavor  and  make  them 
more  indigestible.  On  the  other  hand,  when  grown  in  the  far  South 
they  are  better  for  fattening  purposes,  and  far  better  for  making  peanut 
oil,  which  is  now  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  the  oil  products. 

Peanuts  have  been  successfully  grown  in  Tennessee  for  many  years  in 
the  counties  of  Perry,  Hickman,  Humphreys,  Dickson,  Lewis  .and 
Wayne,  situated  in  that  natural  division  of  the  state  known  as  the  High- 
land Rim,  and  in  a  few  counties  in  West  Tennessee. 

THE  BEST  SOIL— The  best  soil  for  the  peanut  is  a  light  colored 
clayey  soil,  filled  with  finely-comminuted,  cherty,  angular  gravel,  which 
makes  the  ground  loose  and  prevents  it  from  baking.  The  ground  should 
be  well  drained  and  light  in  color,  for  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  there  is  a 
correlation  between  the  color  of  the  soil  and  the  color  of  the  nut.  black 
or  deep  red  soils  making  a  dark  colored  nut  and  light  or  whitish  soils  a 
light-colored  nut.  The  darker  soils  may,  and  most  frequently  do,  make 
a  larger  yield  per  acre  but  the  nuts  do  not  command  such  a  good  price 
and  are  classed  in  a  lower  grade. 

Land  with  much  humus  is  not  suited  to  the  growth  of  peanuts.  The 
soil  should  be  strong  but  with  a  small  amount  of  vegetable  matter  in  its 
composition.  Peanuts,  therefore,  do  not  yield  well  after  clover  or  in 
freshly  cleared  lands.  In  such  condition-s  the  amount  of  vine  is  excessive 
and  such  land  is  best  for  growing  peanut  hay,  but  the  quantity  of  good 
peanuts  is  very  small.  The  best  results  are  obtained  by  planting  the 
crops  after  corn  or  tobacco  or  potatoes,  or  after  any  crop  that  requires 
clean  cultivation. 

TIME  AND  MANNER  OF  PLANTING— The  land  for  peanuts  in 
Tennessee  is  usually  prepared  during  the  latter  part  of  April  after  the^ 
danger  of  frost  is  passed.  It  should  be  well  broken  and  finely  pulverized 


101 

with  a  harrow.  For  white  peanuts  or  the  spreading  fra>:ie#  *h-e  land  is 
checked  off  in  rows  two  and  one-half  to  three  feet  apart;  and  two  'kernels, 
after  being  carefully  hulled  by  hand,  are  dropped  it  the  points'  of  inieV- 
section  of  the  furrows  like  corn  and  covered  with  a  hoe  to  the  depth  of 
one  and  one-half  to  two  inches.  In  shelling  the  nuts  care  must  be  taken 
not  to  break  the  delicate  covering  that  surrounds  the  kernels,  for  this  will 
impair  or  totally  destroy  their  vitality.  If  the  land  after  planting  should 
become  compacted  by  a  hard  rain,  a  light  harrow  should  be  run  over  it 
when  the  land  is  dry  enough  to  plow,  in  order  to  break  the  obstructing 
crust,  so  that  the  very  delicate  shoot  can  make  its  way  to  the  surface. 
Red  peanuts  are  planted  in  ridges  like  cotton.  The  rows  are  run  off  three 
feet  apart  and  four  furrows  thrown  on  these.  The  ridges  thus  made  are 
opened  on  lop  by  a  bull-tongue  plow  or  coulter  and  the  seed  dropped  at 
intervals  of  eight  to  twelve  inches  apart  and  covered  two  inches  deep  by 
a  board  like  that  employed  for  covering  cotton  seed,  or  it  would  be  better 
to  procure  a  one-horse  corn  planter,  adjusted  so  as  to  open  the  ridges  to 
the  proper  depth  and  to  drop  the  kernels  at  the  required  intervals,  and 
at  the  same  time,  cover  them.  About  two  bushels  and  one-half  in  the 
hull  are  required  to  plant  an  acre.  The  brown  millipede,  the  cutworm, 
the  wood  mouse,  and  the  mole  are  all  great  enemies  of  the  peanut  when 
just  planted.  Replanting  should  begin,  if  the  plant  does  not  appear  above 
ground,  in  ten  days. 

FERTILIZERS — Many  peanut-growers  object  to  the  use  of  any 
manure  whatever,  but  in  this  they  undoubtedly  commit  an  error.  The 
application  of  a  large  amount  of  stable  manure  would  prove  detrimental, 
but  in  small  quantities  it  is  highly  beneficial.  The  best  fertilizer  for  the 
peanut  is  an  ammoniated  superphosphate  of  lime  with  some  potash.  An 
application  of  lime  in  its  caustic  state  on  other  than  limestone  soils  during 
the  fall  previous  to  planting  would  be  beneficial.  The  peanut  must  have 
lime,  but  not  too  much  of  it.  The  heavy  limestone  soils  will  produce  a 
great  quantity  of  pops.  No  top-dressing  of  lime  of  any  kind  should  be 
made.  The  superphosphate  and  the  nitrogenous  manures  may  be 
strewn  in  the  furrows  at  the  rate  of  300  pounds  to  the  acre.  Ashes  or 
kainit  will  supply  potash,  and  a  greater  amount  than  150  pounds  to  the 
acre  is  not  necessary.  Cottonseed  meal  and  barnyard  manure  in  limited 
quantities  are  excellent  fertilizers  for  this  crop.  Being  a  leguminous 
plant  the  peanut  has  the  power  of  extracting  nitrogen  from  the  atmos- 
phere 

CULTIVATION— If  the  land  has  been  well  prepared  before  the  pea- 
nuts are  planted  the  after-cultivation  is  very  simple  and  inexpensive.  The 
weeds  should  be  kept  down  by  using  a  narrow  harrow  or  a  double  culti- 
vator. Many  growers  use  a  one-horse  turning  plow  and  bar  off  the  soil 
from  the  peanuts  when  they  first  come  up.  Afterwards  in  the  cultivation 
of  the  white  peanut  this  middle  ridge  is  leveled  down  with  a  harrow  or 
double  shovel.  For  the  red  or  upright  growers  the  dirt  at  the  second 
plowing  is  usually  thrown  back  to  them,  if  they  have  attained  a  height 
great  enough  not  to  be  covered  up  by  the  process.  The  peanut  will  thrive 
with  the  same  cultivation  that  is  given  to  corn.  Any  cultivation  is  good 
that  will  destroy  the  weeds  and  keep  the  land  in  good  tilth,  but  it  must 


102 

not  be  extended. beyond  the  period  when  the  peanuts  begin  to  form,  and 
especially  must  Ihis  caution  be  observed  in  the  case  of  the  trailing  or 
( white  peanuts.  L,eve]  cultivation  is  far  better  for  the  white  peanut  and 
equally  good  for  the  red. 

Many  years  ago  it  was  thought  that  a  necessary  requirement  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  white  peanut  was  to  cover  the  bloom.  This  practice  has 
long  been  discontinued,  for  it  not  only  does  no  good,  but  it  does  much 
damage  and  decreases  the  yield  of  the  crop.  The  "spikelets"  form  above 
ground  after  the  fall  of  the  flowers,  but  the  ground  should  be  soft  enough 
to  permit  the  sharp  thorn-like  points  to  penetrate  the  surface.  When 
once  beneath  the  surface  the  ovary  at  the  end  of  the  "spikelet"  begins 
to  enlarge  and  ripens  into  a  pale,  yellowish,  wrinkled  pod,  slightly  curved, 
sometimes  contracted  in  the  middle,  and  containing  generally  two,  some- 
times three  and  rarely  four  kernels.  A  dry  spring  is  always  desirable 
for  planting  and  cultivating,  but  when  the  "spikelets"  begin  to  push  down 
into  the  ground  frequent  showers  are  indispensable  to  a  large  yield. 

HARVESTING— The  harvesting  must  always  take  place  before 
frost,  for  the  nuts  and  haulm  are  both  greatly  injured,  if  not  ruined,  by 
frost.  If  the  fall  should  be  wet,  or  the  peanuts  mature  very  early,  many 
of  the  first  formed  nuts  will  be  ruined  by  sprouting.  Dry  weather  should 
always  be  selected  for  harvesting.  It  cannot  be  done  when  the  ground 
is  wet  for  then  the  dirt  will  adhere  to  the  nuts  and  ruin  them  or  at  least 
greatly  detract  from  their  market  value  by  injuring  their  color. 

The  crop  of  white  peanuts  is  harvested  by  running  a  furrow  on  each 
side  of  the  row  with  a  bull-tongue  plow  or  a  pea-digger,  so  as  to  dislocate 
the  roots.  Care  must  be  taken  not  to  detach  the  nuts  from  the  vine  in 
running  the  side  furrow.  After  the  plow  has  been  run  on  each  side  of 
the  row  (and  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  run  twice  on  a  side)  then  lift 
the  vines  gently  with  the  hand,  carefully  shaking  the  dirt  off,  and  lay 
them  on  the  ground.  Let  them  remain  in  this  way,  if  the  sun  is  shining, 
from  six  to  eight  hours.  The  vines  will  wilt  like  clover,  when  they  may 
be  brought  together  and  stacked.  The  stacks  are  made  around  a  pole 
planted  in  the  ground  and  rising  some  eight  feet  above  the  surface.  A 
platform  made  of  old  rails  rests  upon  logs  placed  around  the  pole  and 
upon  this  the  stack  is  built.  The  platform  protects  the  nuts  and  vines 
from  the  mold  and  dampness  of  the  ground.  In  stacking,  the  nuts  should 
be  put  on  the  inside  next  to  the  stack-pole,  but  not  so  close  as  to  prevent 
the  air  from  circulating  freely  from  the  bottom  to  the  top  of  the  stack. 
To  make  the  stack  entirely  secure  it  should  have  a  capping  of  hay  or  corn 
fodder.  Put  up  in  this  manner  the  nuts  will  keep  securely  all  the  winter 
should  it  be  desired. 

The  red  nuts  are  more  easily  harvested  than  the  white,  as  they  have 
but  few  roots  and  the  nuts  adhere  closely  about  the  stem.  In  loose  land 
they  may  be  pulled  up  without  running  a  furrow  on  each  side  ol  the  row, 
though  to  do  this  will  make  the  work  much  easier.  There  are  but  few 
red  nuts  now  grown  in  Tennessee.  An  over-production  of  them  for  a  few 
years  reduced  prices  below  the  cost  of  the  labor  required  in  producing 
them. 

Usually  the  nuts  are  allowed  to  stand  in  the  stacks  about  four  weeks 


103 

and  are  then  picked  off  by  hand,  the  white  nuts  always.  The  red  nuts 
are  sometimes  threshed  off  by  taking  up  bundles  and  beating  them  against 
a  rail  or  the  side  of  a  box.  This  latter  plan  greatly  injures  the  nuts.  Five 
to  six  bushels  of  red  peanuts  can  be  picked  off  the  vines  in  a  day  by  a 
nimbled-fingered  person,  but  the  picking  of  three  to  four  bushels  of  the 
white  is  considered  a  good  day's  work.  Women  and  children  are  said  to 
be  much  more  expert  in  this  work  than  men.  The  price  paid  for  picking 
is  about  ten  cents  a  bushel.  After  this  they  ought  to  be  screened  in  a 
cylinder  so  as  to  separate  them  from  the  dust  and  leaves  and  also  for  the 
purpose  of  brightening  the  hulls  by  abrasion.  After  sunning  they  are  put 
in  sacks  containing  four  to  five  bushels.  So  much  may  be  added  to  the 
selling  price  of  the  peanut  crop  by  proper  cleaning  and  assorting  that  it 
has  been  found  profitable  in  all  localities  where  many  peanuts  are  grown 
to  erect  great  recleaning  houses.  These  houses  are  four  stories  high. 
The  upper  or  fourth  floor  contains  a  large  hopper  into  which  the  peanuts 
as  they  are  delivered  by  the  farmers  are  poured.  They  run  down  through 
pipes  to  the  third  floor,  where  they  pass  through  a  screen  or  cylinder  and 
by  abrasion  the  nuts  are  cleaned  and  the  hulls  brightened.  From  the 
cylinder  the  nuts  are  carried  to  the  second  floor,  where  they  are  passed 
through  a  fan  by  which  the  light  ones  are  blown  out.  The  heavier  ones 
are  caught  on  an  endless  belt  passing  longitudinally  over  the  surface  of  a 
long  table.  On  both  sides  of  the  table  employes,  usually  girls  or  boys, 
stand  and  pick  out  all  black  or  discolored  nuts.  At  one  end  of  the  table 
is  a  sizer,  where  the  nuts  are  separated  into  three  classes:  Jumbos,  or 
fancy,  which  are  very  large  nuts;  No.  1  and  No.  2.  On  the  lower  floor 
all  grades  are  caught  and  sacked.  The  puffs  and  black  or  discolored  nuts 
are  shelled  and  sold  to  confectioners.  The  owners  of  the  recleaning 
establishments  buy  the  nuts  direct  from  the  farmers  and  resell  them  on 
the  market  after  they  have  been  cleaned  and  assorted. 

YIELD  PER  ACRE— The  weight  of  a  bushel  of.  peanuts  in  Tennes- 
see is  twenty-three  pounds;  in  Georgia  twenty-eight;  in  North  Carolina 
and  Virginia  twenty-two  pounds.  The  Tennessee  peanuts  are  larger 
than  those  of  Georgia  and  smaller  than  those  of  North  Carolina  and  Vir- 
ginia. Of  those  raised  in  Tennessee,  less  than  one-fourth  are  of  the  red 
variety.  The  usual  yield  per  acre  is  from  thirty  to  fifty  bushels,  though 
as  high  as  100  bushels  are  sometimes  made.  The  white  peanuts  will  make 
from  ten  to  twenty  bushels  per  acre  more  than  the  red,  but  not  being  so 
easily  cultivated  or  gathered,  they  were  until  recently  considered  less 
valuable  as  a  crop. 

USES  OF  THE  NUT— The  present  consumption  of  peanuts  by  the 
American  people  for  eating  purposes  alone  reaches  4,000,000  bushels. 
This  is  largely  in  excess  of  what  we  produce.  It  is  estimated  that  the 
peanut  crop  of  the  world  now  amounts  to  600,000,000  pounds  or  26,087,000 
bushels.  Much  of  this  product  is  used  in  the  Old  World  for  making  oil, 
which  is  regarded  as  an  excellent  substitute  for  olive  oil,  as  it  has  an 
agreeable  taste  and  odor.  The  s-helled  nuts  will  yield  about  40  per  cent, 
of  oil.  It  is  said  that  the  Tennessee  nut  yields  an  oil  that  is  often  used 
and  is  highly  esteemed  for  culinary  purposes.  Estimating  that  the  hulls 
of  the  peanuts  make  6  per  cent,  by  weight  and  that  40  per  cent,  of  oil  may 


104 

be  extracted  from  the  kernels,  there  should  be  obtained  8.65  pounds  of  oil 
from  each  bushel  of  twenty-three  pounds.  This  would  give  in  liquid 
measure  1.15  gallons,  which  at  the  price  of  $1  per  gallon,  would  make 
$1.15  for  the  oil  extracted  from  one  bushel  of  peanuts.  Manufacturers  use 
this  oil  as  a  substitute  for  olive  oil  in  fulling  cloth.  A  large  amount  is 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  soap.  It  is  not  very  desirable  as  a  lighting 
fluid,  as  it  does  not  give  as  clear  light  as  whale  oil  or  petroleum.  For  the 
fattening  of  hogs  peanuts  are  exceedingly  valuable,  and  have  proved  very 
satisfactory  on  account  of  their  large  content  of  fatty  matter.  Hogs  are 
very  fond  of  them. 

THE  VINE  AS  A  FORAGE  CROP— The  haulm  or  vine,  when 
carefully  harvested,  before  it  has  been  injured  by  frost,  is  an  excellent 
food  for  cattle  and  sheep.  Horses  are  exceedingly  fond  of  it,  but  the 
amount  of  dirt  which  necessarily  adheres  to  it  is  apt  to  produce  a  disa- 
greeable cough.  The  red  peanut  makes  better  hay  than  the  white,  because 
it  grows  erect,  and  is,  therefore,  freer  from  dirt.  Usually  about  one  ton 
is  saved  per  acre,  though  upon  strong  land,  where  the  vines  grow  luxu- 
riantly, two  or  more  tons  have  been  saved.  Many  practical  farmers  prefer 
this  hay  to  clover  hay.  Like  clover  hay  it  must  be  handled  carefully,  or 
the  leaves  will  fall  off,  leaving  nothing  but  the  stems,  that  are  practically 
worthless.  It  produces  a  copious  flow  of  rich,  creamy  milk  when  fed 
to  milch  cows.  Ewes  in  lambing  time  can  have  no  better  food  given  them 
than  well-cured  peanut  hay,  because  it  increases  the  flow  of  milk  and 
enriches  its  quality. 

JAPAN    CLOVER— BUSH     CLOVER— KING    GRASS—  (Lespedeza 

slriata}—  (Grazing  and  Hay.) 

There  were  numerous  species  of  Lespedeza  found  in  the  South  as  far 
back  as  the  time  of  the  Spanish  occupation  of  Louisiana.  They  were  then 
observed  and  mentioned  in  Spanish  records  and  regarded,  at  the  time,  as 
being  good  forage  plants.  The  seeds  of  the  Lespedeza  striata  were  intro- 
duced into  South  Carolina  about  1849  from  Japan  or  China  or  probably 
from  both,  doubtless  coming  over  in  tea  chests.  Its  existence  in  Japan 
was  mentioned  as  early  as  1784,  by  a  German  chemist,  who  saw  it  growing 
in  that  country.  A  few  years  after  its  first  appearance  in  South  Carolina 
it  had  spread  as  far  as  Macon,  Ga.  It  appeared  in  Tennessee  about  1870 
and  spread  rapidly  through  many  counties  in  the  State,  covering  old 
fields,  rooting  out  broom  sedge  and  other  grasses,  and  showing  such  a 
vigor  of  growth  and  tenacity  of  life  as  to  arrest  the  attention  of  every 
observant  farmer.  It  will  grow  with  great  luxuriance  on  the  poorest 
soils,  and  will  resist  the  severest  droughts.  Soils  that  are  totally  unfit 
for  the  growth  of  any  other  plant  will  produce  Japan  clover  high  enough 
to  make  good  pasturage.  On  more  fertile  lands  it  will  grow  to  the  height 
of  two  feet  or  more.  It  is  an  annual  and  should  be  sown  in  the  State  of 
Tennessee  during  the  month  of  March,  but  it  is  rarely  necessary  to  sow 
it  at  all  as,  when  it  once  becomes  established  in  any  spot,  it  soon  spreads 
throughout  the  locality.  It  is  an  excellent  plant  for  restoring  fertility  to 
old  fields  and  many  of  these  in  the  state  have  been  reclaimed  through  its 
instrumentality.  In  many  of  the  Southern  States  it  is  regarded  as  the 


105 

most  valuable  of  all  forage  plants  for  the  very  reason  that  it  will  grow  on 
the  most  sterile  or  exhausted  soils.  It  is  largely  used  for  hay,  especially 
when  grown  on  calcareous  soils,  being  said  to  have  a  high  feeding  value, 
though  less  than  that  of  the  cowpea  and  clover.  It  does  not  stand  cold 
weather.  The  first  frost  will  kill  it,  and  occasionally  it  suffers  from  hot 
weather  when  grown  upon  thirsty,  sandy  soils.  Its  roots  penetrate  to  a 
great  depth  in  the  soil  and  like  all  other  leguminous  plants  it  collects 
nitrogen  from  the  atmosphere  It  is  much  more  highly  esteemed  in  the 
extreme  Southern  States  than  it  is  in  Tennessee. 

Mr.  H.  B.  McGehee,  of  Woodville,  Miss.,  says:  "My  experience  is  that 
Lespedeza  striata  (Japan  clover)  is  the  most  satisfactory  and  best  all- 
around  forage  crop  we  have  in  Southwest  Mississippi.  It  is  the  quickest 
grown,  easiest  handled  and  affords  the  most  abundant  yield  of  any  hay 
crop  we  have.  We  prepare  our  lands  and  sow  in  October  or  March  one- 
half  bushel  of  seed  to  the  acre.  It  yields  from  one  and  one-half  tons  to 
three  tons  per  acre,  reseeds  itself,  and  the  meadows  may  be  lek  from  two 
to  three  years  without  replowing.  Often  after  preparing  lands  and  sow- 
ing our  fall  oats  we  sow  Lespedeza  among  the  young  growing  oats  some 
time  in  March,  after  all  danger  of  a  freeze  is  over,  and  thereby  get  two 
crops  from  the  same  piece  of  land  during  one  year.  Stock  .of  all  kinds 
eat  this  hay  readily  and  fatten  on  it.  It  sells  on  a  local  market  for  from 
$12  to  $15  per  ton.  Ours  is  a  loamy,  sandy  soil,  with  a  good  deep  sub- 
soil." 

Prof.  S.  M.  Tracy,  says  of  this  plant:  "Lespedeza  is  the  standard 
clover  plant  of  the  South.  It  will  grow  on  the  poorest  and  dryest  soils 
and,  pound  for  pound,  is  the  best  hay  I  have  ever  used  for  fattening  or  for 
milch  cows.  Three  years  ago  last  October,  our  barn  containing  the  hay 
we  had  stored  for  winter  use  was  destroyed  by  fire.  The  last  of  October 
is  late  for  making  hay  in  Mississippi.  On  the  day  after  the  fire  we  put 
our  mowing  machines  into  a  field  of  Lespedeza,  which  we  had  before 
thought  hardly  worth  the  cutting,  and  in  two  weeks  we  had  stored  a  fresh 
supply  of  hay,  mostly  Lespedeza,  but  with  a  liberal  mixture  of  asters, 
golden  rod  and  plum  bushes;  but  even  this  hay  gave  us  better  results  in 
milk  and  butter  than  did  equal  weights  of  imported  timothy." 

Mr.  Samuel  McRamsey,  of  Warren  county,  Tennessee,  who  was  in 
the  dairy  business  for  many  years,  says:  "This  clover  made  its  appearance 
in  this  locality  in  1870.  It  is  fast  covering  the  whole  country.  It  supplies 
much  grazing  from  the  first  of  August  until  frost.  It  is  short,  but  very 
hardy.  Sheep  are  very  fond  of  it,  and  cattle  will  eat  it.  It  is  killing  out 
the  broom  sedge  wherever  it  appears.  It  grows  exceedingly  well  on  red 
clay,  and  with  a  little  care  covers  red  hillsides  that  are  much  too  common 
all  over  the  state.  If  it  will  do  this  and  destroy  the  broom  sedge,  it  should 
be  cultivated.  It  is  not  good  for  meadow  and  is  only  valuable  for 
pasture." 

Upon  the  farm  of  the  writer  in  Montgomery  county,  Tennessee,  the 
chief  soil  of  which  is  a  deep  clayey  loam  belonging  to  the  Lithostrotion 
bed  of  the  subrarboriiferous  formation,  Lespedeza  appeared  about  1880, 
and  it  quickly  took  possession  of  several  wooded  lots  and  also  spread  in 
some  older  fields  that  were  not  in  cultivation.  At  first  cattle  were  totally 


107  . 

indifferent  to  it  and  would  not  eat  it,  but  gradually  both  cattle  and  sheep 
began  to  relish  it.  The  advantage  of  this  plant  is  its  drought-resisting 
quality.  On  good  soils  it  will  remain  green  and  continue  to  grow  until 
the  advent  of  frost.  Broom  sedge,  in  many  places,  especially  in  fence 
corners,  has  yielded  to  its  conquering  march.  It  is  far  less  troublesome 
than  broom  sedge  in  every  particular,  and  if  it  does  no  other  good  it  will 
be  regarded  as  a  benefactor  in  its  ability  to  destroy  one  of  the  most 
troublesome  of  all  growths  to  meadows  and  pastures.  During  the  period 
of  dry  weather  it  will  turn  brown  upon  thin  soils,  but  the  first  rain  will 
give  it  a  new  growth. 

The  best  estimate  of  its  value  was  made  many  years  ago  by  Prof.  E. 
M.  Pendleton,  of  Georgia.  He  says:  "I  am  willing  to  concede  to  it  sev- 
eral things  that  do  not  apply  to  any  other  plant  we  have  ever  grown  in 
this  latitude. 

"It  has  great  powers  of  endurance,  so  far  as  the  roots  are  concerned; 
but  the  branches  and  leaves  will  parch  and  die  out  under  a  burning  sun 
very  soon,  especially  where  it  grows  sparsely.  During  a  wet  summer  it 
luxuriates  wherever  propagated  on  poor  hill-sides  as  well  as  on  meadow 
lands.  It  loves,  however,  rainy  seasons  on  thirsty  lands  and  I  fear  will 
not  prove  to  be  all  we  desire  in  such  localities.  It  however,  reminds  us 
of  an  anecdote  of  Mr.  Dickson,  when  he  was  showing  some  gentlemen 
his  farm  during  the  prevalence  of  a  severe  drought.  As  they  passed 
through  a  corn  field  in  which  some  of  the  stalks  were  actually  dying  for 
lack  of  moisture,  one.  of  them  called  his  attention  to  several  in  that  con- 
dition. 'Yes,'  said  he:  ;I  perceive  the  fact,  but  it  dies  game.'  And  so 
of  the  Japan  clover;  it  dies  from  severe  drought,  but  rallies  again  as  soon 
as  the  rain  sets  in. 

"It  is  good  pasturage  for  stock  and  I  think  would  make  good  hay,  if 
cut  and  cured.  But  I  do  not  believe  that  our  stock  like  it  as  well  as  the 
native  grasses  and  I  doubt  whether  it  is  as  nutritious  as  the  Bermuda.  As 
cattle  love  variety,  however,  this  may  subserve  a  good  purpose  in  that 
way.  My  opinion,  however,  is,  from  a  not  very  close  observation  in  the 
matter,  that  they  would  soon  tire  out  on  it  exclusively. 

"It  furnishes  a  large  supply  of  vegetable  matter  to  the  soil,  and  I 
believe  will  prove  to  be  the  best  humus-making  plant  we  have  at  the 
South,  where  so  much  is  needed  from  our  clean  cotton  culture.  As  it  is 
said  to  be  difficult  to  gather  the  seed  in  large  quantities,  I  intend  to  plow 
up  the  surface  where  it  has  seeded,  and  rake  up  the  grass  and  top  soil, 
and  sow  this  dirt  over  my  oat  and  wheat  fields,  and  especially  on  the  poor 
places.  My  opinion  is  that  a  most  luxuriant  growth  of  this  clover  will 
follow,  which  can  be  turned  under  in  the  fall  while  green,  and  thus  fur- 
nish not  only  humus  but  nitrogen  to  the  soil. 

"Another  rare  quality  of  this  plant  is  indicated  in  the  name  I  have 
given  it — 'King  grass' — in  the  fact  that  it  absolutely  roots  out  and  de- 
stroys every  living  plant  in  its  wide-spread  path.  Not  even  old  Bermuda, 
which  has  so  long  held  undisputed  sway  over  his  circumscribed  fields,  can 
resist  its  encroaches.  I  have  a  bottom  long  since  given  up  to  the  Ber- 
muda. Recently  I  passed  through  it  and  found  that  the  Lespedeza  had 
almost  completely  throttled  it,  though  like  Mr.  Dickson's  corn  it  died 


108 

game,  as  here  and  there,  peering  above  its  enemy,  could  be  seen  an 
isolated  sprig  of  Bermuda,  which,  as  it  cannot  stand  shade,  will  have  to 
yield  entirely  before  the  close  of  another  season.  I  have  but  little  doubt 
that  any  pest,  like  coco  or  Bermuda,  could  be.  rooted  out  by  this  'King 
grass'  in  a  few  years  in  any  locality,  and  would  recommend  it  to  be 
sown  on  such  fields,  if  for  no  other  purpose.  I  intend  to  give  it  a  fair 
trial  myself  on  one  or  two  similar  localities." 

The  North  Carolina  Experiment  Station  has  this  to  say: 
"The  ability  to  grow  on  land  too  poor  to  produce  even  broom  sedge 
and  to  crowd  out  all  other  plants;  its  dying  each  winter  and  leaving  its 
roots  to  fertilize  the  soil;  and  its  possessing  the  nitrogen-fixing  power 
peculiar  to  the  pulse  family  of  plants,  place  Japan  clover  at  the  head  of 
renovating  plants  adapted  to  the  climate  of  Southern  States.  It  is  un- 
equalled as  a  restorer  of  worn  fields,  such  as  are  generally  turned  out  to 
grow  up  in  pines." 

SOY  BEAN— COFFEE  BEAN— SOJA  BEAN—  (  Glydne  hispida.}— 
(Forage,  Ensilage  and  Pasture.) 

This  plant  has  recently  been  introduced  into  cultivation  in  the  United 
States,  though  it  has  been  known  in  China  and  Japan  from  a  remote  an- 
tiquity. It  is  one  of  the  crops  grown  for  human  food  in  oriental  coun- 
tries. It  yields  a  large  amount  of  seed  while  the  forage,  both  green  and 
dry,  is  capable  of  sustaining  and  even  fattening  domestic  animals.  Ex- 
periments that  have  been  tried  in  Tennessee  in  its  culture  have  been  fairly 
successful. 

The  soy  bean  is  an  annual,  belongs  to  the  leguminous  family,  and  is 
grown  for  the  same  purposes  as  cowpeas  and  clover.  As  a  soil  renovator, 
as  a  hay  and  as  ensilage  it  is  nearly  the  equal  in  every  respect  of  red 
clover. 

There  are  many  varieties  of  the  soy  bean.  The  early  varieties  are 
thought  to  be  the  best  to  cultivate  for  seed.  The  medium  early  green  is 
the  best  for  hay  and  this  with  the  medium  early  black  is  best  for  soiling 
and  for  ensilage.  Soy  beans  will  grow  upon  almost  any  soil,  but  that 
which  is  supplied  with  potash,  phosphoric  acid  and  lime  is  said  to  give  the 
best  results.  Good  crops  have  been  made  on  very  thin  soils  in  Kansas 
and  South  Carolina.  It  is  a  great  drought-resister  and  will  suffer  less 
from  continued  dry  weather  than  almost  any  ordinary  field  crop.  It  will 
grow  in  every  latitude  in  which  corn  will  mature.  It  is  not  so  sensitive  to 
cold  as  cowpeas  or  the  ordinary  garden  bean.  It  will  bear  moisture  well 
and  a  case  is  given  by  Mr.  Robert  C.  Morris,  of  Illinois,  where  soy 
beans  stood  three  weeks  in  water  during  the  month  of  July  without  any 
permanent  injury.  For  hay  the  beans  should  be  sown  at  the  rate  of  one 
bushel  per  acre  unon  land  well  prepared  by  thorough  pulverization.  The 
seed  may  be  covered  with  a  harrow.  If  planted  mainly  for  seed  it  is  best 
to  plant  in  drills,  say  30  inches  apart,  and  cultivate  in  the  same  manner  as 
corn.  About  five  or  six  plants  should  be  left  for  every  foot  in  the  row.  It 
is  best  to  stir  the  earth  after  every  rain,  but  not  to  work  the  plants  when 
they  are  wet  either  from  rain  or  dew.  The  haulm  of  the  soy  bean  is  very 
rich  in  fat  and  muscle  making  constituents  and  should  always  be  fed  in 


109 

connection  with  fodder,  corn  or  sorghum.  It  should  be  cut  for  hay  when 
the  plants  are  in  late  bloom  or  when  a  few  of  the  pods  begin  to  form.  It 
is  a  hay  very  difficult  to  cure,  much  more  so  than  red  clover,  and  it  is 
necessary  after  cutting  to  throw  the  plants  into  a  windrow  until  they  have 
wilted,  then  to  put  them  up  in  cocks  with  small  diameter  so  that  the  air 
can  pass  freely  through  them.  Handling  the  hay  injures  it  very  much  in 
causing  the  leaves  to  be  broken  off  and  lost.  Probably  the  best  plan  for 
saving  the  hay  is  to  stack  it  around  a  pole  upon  which  long  limbs  have 
been  left.  These  limbs  admit  the  air,  which  causes  the  hay  to  cure 


Soy  Bean — Glycine  hispida. 
(U.  S.  Dept.  Agric.) 

much  better,  but  as  soy  bean  hay  does  not  shed  rain  the  stack  should  be 
capped  with  wheat  straw  or  hay  that  will  shed  water. 

When  harvesting  the  crop  for  seed  it  may  be  cut  with  a  scythe  or 
mower  and  put  up  into  small  cocks  until  the  pods  become  thoroughly 
dry.  The  threshing  may  then  be  done  with  a  flail  or  with  a  threshing 
machine.  The  soy  bean  will  yield  upon  good  strong  land  from  ten  to 
fifteen  tons  of  green  forage  per  acre  which  will  make  from  two  to  three 
tons  of  cured  hay.  At  the  North  Carolina  Station  an  experiment  was 
made  with  the  soy  bean  and  cowpea  upon  the  same  character  of  soils, 
both  grown  under  similar  conditions.  While  the  soy  bean  yielded  2  1-4 
tons  of  cured  hay  per  acre  the  cowpea  yielded  less  than  a  ton. 

l 


110 

The  yield  of  the  soy  bean  is  very  prolific,  running  from  25  to  40 
bushels  per  acre  and  even  100  bushels  have  been  reported  under  very 
favorable  conditions.  The  soy  bean  like  the  cowpea  may  be  sown  upon 
stubble  land  after  the  wheat  or  oat  crop  is  harvested.  Two  crops  may 
thus  be  grown  upon  the  same  land  and  the  land  left  in  much  better  condi- 
tion than  it  would  be  after  the  wheat  or  oat  crop.  In  fact  the  bean  crop 
is  often  worth  twice  as  much  as  the  wheat  or  oat  crop,  the  seed  selling  for 
$1.00  to  $2.00  per  bushel,  and  the  haulm  is  as  valuable  as  an  equal 
amount  of  red  clover  hay.  All  the  analyses  which  have  been  made  of  the 
soy  bean  show  that  it  compares  well  in  useful  qualities  with  other  legu- 
minous plants.  The  green  haulm  has  nearly  the  same  composition  as 
red  clover.  It  is  richer  in  protein  and  fat  than  the  cowpea. 

In  a  comparison  of  many  analyses  made,  it  appears  that  the  soy  bean 
stands  as  well  in  digestibility  as  the  clovers,  cowpeas,  alfalfa  or  any  other 
legume  whatever.  As  a  soiling  crop  it  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  most 
important.  A  succession  of  forage  may  be  had  from  summer  to  autumn 
by  sowing  several  varieties  that  mature  at  different  times.  As  an  ensilage 
crop  it  is  surpassed  by  few.  It  is  said  that  the  silage  keeps  well  and  is 
readily  eaten  by  stock,  and  the  animals  show  good  results  in  flesh  and  in 
the  production  of  milk.  When,  as  often  happens,  the  bean  is  allowed  to 
get  too  ripe  for  hay  it  may,  with  more  profit,  be  used  as  silage.  The  hay, 
being  coarse,  is  not  eaten  so  voraciously  as  red  clover  hay  or  peanut  hay, 
and  that  of  many  other  leguminous  plants. 

Probably  the  best  use  which  can  be  made  of  the  soy  bean  in  the 
South  is.  for  the  fattening  of  hogs.  When  so  used  the  labor  and  expense 
of  harvesting  is  saved.  It  also  forms  an  excellent  pasturage  for  sheep. 
Prof.  Georgeson,  in  his  experience  at  the  Kansas  Station,  has  this  to  say 
in  regard  to  its  value  for  the  production  of  pork: 

"It  was  found  that  a  lot  of  three  pigs  which  was  fed  for  126  days  on  a 
ration  consisting  for  the  first  eleven  weeks  of  Kaffir  corn  meal  alone,  and 
the  last  seven  weeks  of  Kaffir  corn  meal  and  shorts,  gained  a  total  of  191 
pounds,  while  a  similar  lot  fed  two-thirds  Kaffir  corn  meal  and  one-third 
soy  bean  meal  gained  547  pounds  in  the  same  time.  Another  lot  of  three 
pigs  which  was  fed  on  corn  meal  for  the  first  eleven  weeks  of  the  experi- 
ment, and  a  mixture  of  two-thirds  corn  meal  and  one-third  shorts  for  the 
last  seven  weeks  of  the  experiment,  made  a  total  gain  of  306  pounds  in 
126  days,  while  a  similar  lot  of  three  pigs  fed  on  two-thirds  corn  meal 
and  one-third  soy  bean  meal  throughout  the  experiment  gained  554 
pounds  in  the  same  time.  The  largely  increased  gains  in  these  pigs  must 
be  credited  chiefly  to  the  soy  bean  meal." 

The  soy  bean  may  also  be  regarded  as  a  valuable  acquisition  as  an  aid 
in  the  restoration  of  soils.  It,  like  all  other  leguminous  plants,  adds 
nitrogen  to  the  soil.  For  this  purpose  it  is  highly  valued  in  Japan,  and  is 
one  of  the  crops  planted  in  rotation  with  the  cereal  crops.  It  is  now  gen- 
erally believed  that  if  planted  in  a  corn  field  at  the  last  plowing  it  will  not 
only  do  much  to  enrich  the  field  but  it  will  also  furnish  almost  as  much 
food  for  live  stock  as  the  corn  crop  itself. 

Prof.  Jared  G.  Smith,  Assistant  Agrostologist  of  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture,  says  that  "the  feeding  value  of  the  bean  has 


Ill 

been  found  to  be  greater  than  that  of  any  other  known  forage  plant  except 
the  peanut."     This  is  certainly  very  high  commendation. 

The  farmers  of  Tennessee  would  do  well  to  test  the  value  of  this  bean 
practically  on  all  the  different  varieties  of  soils.  It  would  unquestionably 
be  a  valuable  addition  to  the  crops  of  the  Cumberland  table-land.  It 
would  be  valuable  in  the  sandy  soils  of  West  Tennessee  but  it  would  grow 
with  the  greatest  luxuriance  upon  the  valley  lands  of  East  Tennessee  and 
upon  the  limestone  soils  of  the  Central  Basin  and  the  clayey  lands  of  the 
Highland  Rim. 


Herd's  Grass— 
Agrostis  alba. 


Timothy— Phleum 
pratense. 


Tall  Meadow  Fescue 
— Festuca  elatior. 


Meadow  Oat  Grass — Arrhenatherum 
avenaceum. 


Perennial  Rye  Grass — Lolium  perenne. 


FIVE  IMPORTANT  MEADOW  GRASSES. 


PART  III. 
MEADOWS  AND  THEIR  MANAGEMENT. 

Upon  the  proper  selection  of  soils  and  situations  for  meadows  will 
depend  largely  their  permanency  and  their  productiveness.  The  soil,  its- 
condition  and  situation  are  the  most  important  elements  of  success. 
Above  all  things  the  soil  must  be  fertile,  or  it  should  be  made  so  by  abund- 
ant fertilization.  Poor  soils  will  not  produce  rich  grasses.  Stable  ma- 
nure must  be  freely  used  on  the  soil  if  it  is  sterile  in  its  character.  Before 
such  an  application,  however,  the  land  must  be  deeply  broken  and  under- 
drained  if  very  dry  or  very  wet.  It  is  a  well  known  fact  tnat  underdrain- 
ing  dries  wet  soils  and  gives  the  capacity  to  dry  ones  of  retaining  humid- 
ity. It  stimulates  plant  growth  earlier  in  the  spring  and  keeps  it  up  later 
in  the  fall,  because  it  carries  away  the  cold  subterranean  water,  and  by 
doing  so  the  lower  portion  of  the  soil  is  warmed  by  diminishing  evapora- 
tion. Droughts  are  never  so  disastrous  upon  well  drained  soils  as  upon 
undrained  ones.  When  the  soil  is  saturated  with  water,  plant  food  be- 
comes so  much  diluted  that  the  roots  must  take  in  a  larger  quantity  of 
fluid  to  nourish  the  plants,  and  the  hay  is  greatly  injured  by  this  excess  of 
moisture.  Many  soils  that  are  intractable  may  be  made  mellow  and  well 
fitted  for  the  growing  of  grasses  by  thorough  draining.  Drainage  also 
makes  all  fertilizing  matter  have  a  better  effect.  The  productiveness  of 
the  land  when  drained  is  largely  increased,  for  the  reason  that  the  roots- 
are  enabled  to  range  through  a  wider  extent  of  soil  in  search  of  plant  food 
By  permitting  the  roots  of  the  plants  to  penetrate  deeper,  drainage  makes 
them  more  independent  of  the  moisture  of  the  surface  soil,  and  so  has  the 
same  effect  as  a  rain  fall. 

Another  great  advantage  which  meadows  receive  from  proper  drain- 
age is  in  the  prevention  of  the  formation  in  the  soil  of  acids  which  are 
injurious  to  vegetation.  Another  is  that  it  arrests  or  checks  the  heaving 
out  of  grasses  in  winter  by  freezing.  Drainage  also  lessens  the  tendency 
to  the  formation  of  a  hard  crust  on  the  surface  after  rains  with  super- 
vening hot  weather.  Above  all,  drainage  greatly  facilitates  that  reaction 
which  prepares  the  organic  and  mineral  matter  in  the  soil  for  plant  food. 
All  soils  saturated  with  water  are  placed  in  a  condition  that  stops  the 
decay  of  vegetable  matter  incorporated  with  it.  The  mineral  matters  also 
require  to  be  exposed  to  the  air  before  they  are  put  in  a  condition  to  be 
readily  assimilated  by  plants. 

Underdraining  is  but  little  practiced  in  the  South  and  yet  there  is  no 
work  that  is  more  essential  to  a  good  meadow.  Drains  should  be  made 
from  forty  to  sixty  feet  apart  and  should  be  put  at  least  three  feet  beneath 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  with  an  outlet  that  will  carry  the  water  from. 


114 

the  field.  Tiles  make  the  best  drains,  though  drainage  is  often  affected 
by  subterranean  channels  made  of  stone  of  even  logs  and  brush.  Low 
lands  lying  on  creeks  or  rivers  should  have  the  drainage  tiles  placed  in 
lines  perpendicular  to  the  general  course  of  the  stream.  It  must  be 
understood  that  these  drains  shall  have  an  inclination  sufficiently  great  to 
carry  off  the  water  to  the  outlet.  Nor  should  there  be  any  low  depres- 
sions in  the  drain,  where  water  will  stand  and  stagnate. 

If  the  soil  is  neither  very  wet  nor  very  dry  in  its  character  it  will  not 
be  necessary  to  go  to  the  expense  of  underdraining  to  secure  good 
meadows.  Select  a  low  lying  situation  on  a  stream  if  possible.  If  this 
cannot  be  done  take  an  upland  valley  in  which  the  silt  from  the  surround- 
ing acclivities  may  be  gently  deposited  from  time  to  time  upon  the  grass. 
The  surrounding  hills  must  not  be  so  high  nor  so  abrupt  as  to  cause 
large  quantities  of  silty  material  to  be  deposited  at  once.  The  deposit 
should  be  just  sufficient  to  cover  the  base  of  the  grass  but  not  enough  to 
cover  the  crowns.  In  the  latter  case  much  of  the  grass  will  perish;  in 
the  former  the  silty  material  will  act  as  a  fertilizer  and  as  a  mulch  for  the 
retention  of  moisture.  Grass  must  have  plenty  of  water  but  it  must  no'. 
be  in  excess.  Nothing  is  more  hurtful  to  a  meadow  than  standing  water, 
for  after  it  retires  many  vacant  spots  will  be  seen.  Argillaceous  soils  are 
often  so  compact  as  to  prevent  a  healthy  growth.  In  very  loose  soils  the 
roots  of  grasses  frequently  suffer  for  want  of  moisture.  In  the  selection 
of  lands  for  either  meadows  or  pastures  the  depth  of  the  underlying  rocky 
strata  must  be  taken  into  consideration.  If  the  underlying  rocks  come 
near  the  surface  the  grass  will  parch  up  during  a  dry  season.  The 
united  depth  of  the  soil  and  subsoil  should  be  not  less  than  four  feet,  and 
the  subsoil  should  be  a  retentive  clay  capable  of  conserving  moisture. 

The  soil  best  adapted  to  the  growth  of  the  leading  meadow  grasses  is 
a  calcareous  loam  with  clay  enough  in  its  composition  to  give  it  a  con- 
siderable degree  of  adhesiveness,  and  that  will  hold  the  grasses  firmly,  but 
not  enough  to  give  the  soil  so  much  compactness  as  to  prevent  it  from 
being  aerated  and  the  roots  from  penetrating  to  a  good  depth.  The  soil 
must  be  neither  too  compact  nor  too  porous.  When  too  porous  the 
manure  applied  to  the  meadow  sinks  too  rapidly  to  a  plane  beneath  the 
feeding  depth  of  the  roots.  If  too  compact  the  roots  are  not  able  to  go 
deep  enough  to  secure  the  proper  moisture;  nor  can  the  fertilizing  mate- 
rial sink  deep  enough  to  be  within  the  plane  of  moisture. 

Some  sandy  soils  make  excellent  meadows,  especially  when  resting 
upon  a  clayey  subsoil  which  retains  moisture.  Strong  clay  soils  with  a 
large  admixture  of  sandy  material  in  the  form  of  chert,  or  of  calcareous 
matter  in  the  form  of  limestone  gravel,  make  good  meadows  in  proper 
situations.  It  is  not  unusual  to  find  little  strips  of  bottom  lands  lying  on 
mountain  streams  in  which  the  soil  is  largely  composed  of  silty  deposits 
with  about  an  equal  proportion  of  humus,  sand  and  clay.  Such  meadows 
are  very  productive  both  of  timothy  and  herd's  grass  hay.  River  bottom 
lands  having  black  soils,  which  are  liable  to  crack  into  deep  fissures  with 
the  advent  of  hot  weather,  however  fertile  they  may  be,  are  unfit  for 
meadows.  Nor  are  those  lands  suitable  for  meadows  that  are  liable  to 
have  a  thick  slimy  deposit  of  vegetable  matter  left  on  them  after  over- 


115 


flows,  for  though  they  may  be  excellently  well  adapted  for  the  growth  of 
corn,  the  grasses  will  soon  wither  and  die  in  such  situations. 

Good  meadows  are  found  in  the  latitude  of  Tennessee  upon  suitable 
soils,  with  every  exposure  and  in  almost  every  situation.  The  earliest 
meadows  and  those  that  produce  the  most  nutritious  hay  have  slightly 
southern  exposures  but  not  enough  to  absorb  heat  from  the  sun  to  such  a 
degree  as  to  wither  the  grasses  at  noon  tide.  A  slight  southern  inclina- 
tion, especially  if  facing  a  water  course  having  a  fringe  of  trees  between 
the  stream  and  meadow,  is  in  all  respects  the  best  situation.  Large  quan- 
tities of  hay  may,  as  a  general  thing,  be  harvested  from  meadows  having 


BI.UE  GRASS  PADDOCKS,  MAURY  COUNTY,  TENN. 

a  northern  exposure.  The  soils  in  such  situations  will  retain  moisture 
longer  and  moisture  is  indispensable  to  a  heavy  growth  of  grass.  Though 
the  growth  will  not  be  so  quick  or  so  early  as  upon  southern  exposures, 
it  will  be  continued  later  in  the  fall  months  and  in  general  the  grass  will 
be  ranker  and  denser.  Soils  on  northern  exposures  are  also  more  fertile 
in  a  region  having  the  same  general  character  of  soils.  An  eastern  ex- 
posure will  grow  larger  quantities  of  hay  than  a  western  one,  because  the 
growth  of  the  grasses  on  the  latter  is  checked  to  a  greater  extent  by  the 
heat  of  the  afternoon  sun.  The  earliest  and  most  nutritious  hay  crops  are 
harvested  from  meadows  having  a  southern  exposure;  the  largest  yields 


116 

from  those  having  a  northern  exposure.  The  meadows  with  eastern  ex- 
posures will  yield  more  hay  upon  similar  soils  than  those  having  western 
exposures,  but  at  the  cost  of  a  slightly  inferior  product.  From  the  sun 
hay  derives  its  sweetness  and  to  the  sun  it  is  largely  indebted  for  its  rich 
stores  of  nutritive  juices.  Experience  and  analyses  have  demonstrated 
the  fact  that  hay  grown  on  well-prepared,  well-drained  and  well-manured 
soils  is  more  valuable  than  that  grown  on  prairie  or  other  unimproved 
lands  in  the  larger  content  of  its  flesh-forming  material;  in  the  diminution 
of  its  indigestible  matter;  in  the  amount  of  its  saccharine  and  other  solu- 
ble constituents;  in  its  succulence  and  fatty  matters,  and  in  its  compara- 
tive freedom  from  dust,  trash  and  noxious  weeds.  Every  observing 
farmer  knows  that  stock  prefer  the  grasses  grown  on  rich,  well-prepared 
land  to  the  grasses  of  the  highway  pastures  or  those  grown  on  poor  land. 
They  prefer  the  grasses  grown  in  the  sun  to  the  grasses  grown  in  the 
shade,  and  the  grasses  grown  in  a  dry  season  to  those  grown  during  the 
prevalence  of  rain  and  cloudy  weather.  The  unerring  instincts  of  domes- 
tic animals  suggest  many  valuable  ideas.  Shade  in  a  pasture,  though 
desirable  to  a  limited  extent  for  protecting  stock  from  the  fervor  of  a 
mid-day  sun,  is  highly  detrimental  to  the  nutritiousness  of  the  grasses. 
Some  shade  should  be  provided  in  every  pasture  but  never  in  a  meadow, 
for  all  grasses  grown  in  a  meadow  under  shade  are  injured  for  hay 
making. 

Lands  intended  for  meadows  should  be  prepared  in  the  very  best 
manner.  Not  only  should  the  drainage  be  made  perfect,  if  not  so  nat- 
urally, but  the  soils  should  be  as  well  prepared  as  for  the  growing  of  the 
most  highly  cultivated  crops.  It  should  be  put  in  the  finest  mechanical 
condition.  Every  trace  of  wild  growth  and  of  unimproved  land  should 
be  effaced.  Stumps  should  be  extracted  so  that  mowers  and  horse  rakes 
may  be  used.  All  bushes,  roots,  stones,  trash,  brush  and  the  turf  of  wild 
grasses  and  weeds,  should  be  removed  or  destroyed.  The  cultivation  of 
the  land  for  a  few  years  in  crops  requiring  clean  cultivation  and  high  fer- 
tilization is  probably  the  best  preparation  for  a  meadow.  A  crop  of  an- 
nual grass  such  as  millet  fits  the  land  for  a  perennial  meadow  by  destroy- 
ing the  weeds.  New  land  with  fertile  soils,  however,  when  put  in  good 
tilth,  grows  the  meadow  grasses  to  perfection.  If  old  land  is  selected  it 
should  be  deeply  plowed  and,  if  possible,  sub-soiled;  for  deep  tillage  is 
essential  to  the  luxuriant  growth  of  the  perennial  grasses.  Their  roots 
constantly  seek  a  lower  level,  and  if  the  land  is  at  first  drained  and  after- 
wards fertilized  year  after  year,  and  kept  free  from  noxious  weeds,  the 
meadow  will  grow  stronger  and  better  with  time. 

There  is  a  great  difference  in  the  duration  of  grasses  and  in  their  time 
of  maturing.  Some  live  but  a  short  time;  others  are  more  permanent. 
Some  mature  in  one  year;  others  do  not  become  firmly  established  for 
several  years.  Some  are  very  nutritious;  others  are  more  showy  than 
useful.  Different  species  require  different  soils  and  in  sowing  a  meadow 
some  regard  must  be  had  for  these  differences.  A  much  greater  amount 
of  hay  may  be  made  by  sowing  several  species  that  ripen  together.  This 
arises  from  the  fact  that  some  grasses  will  grow  in  one  situation  but  not 
in  another  and  by  the  further  fact  that  a  plant  of  one  species  is  a  greater 


117 

enemy  to  another  plant  of  the  same  species  than  to  a  plant  of  a  different 
species.  Among  the  grasses  that  may  be  most  profitably  sown  for  mead- 
ows in  Tennessee  are  timothy,  herd's  grass,  perennial  rye  grass,  meadow 
oat  grass,  and  tall  fescue  grass,  with  a  slight  sprinkling  of  clover.  In 
sowing  a  meadow  each  kind  of  seed  should  be  sown  separately.  If  the 
seeds  are  mixed  together  the  weight  of  some  will  prevent  them  from  be- 
ing uniformly  distributed  with  the  lighter  seeds.  He  who  desires  a  good 
meadow  should  not  spare  the  seed.  A  wise  plan  is  to  sow  nearly  as  much 
of  each  kind  of  seed  upon  the  meadow  as  is  required  when  only  one  kind 
is  sown. 

The  best  time  for  sowing  meadows  in  Tennessee  is  the  last  of  Sep- 
tember or  the  first  of  October.  After  the  seeds  are  sown  they  should  be 
covered  with  a  roller  or  a  light  brush  and  all  stock  kept  out.  Farmers 
more  often  than  otherwise  sow  grass  seed  in  the  fall  of  the  year  with 
wheat.  This  is  poor  economy.  A  meadow  should  be  sown  for  its  own  sake. 
In  trying  to  save  the  cost  of  preparing  the  land  a  second  time  there  results 
in  a  majority  of  instances,  the  total  loss  of  the  grass  seed.  At  any  rate 
in  sowing  grass  seed  with  wheat,  rye  or  barley  a  whole  year  and  a  half 
must  elapse  before  any  returns  can  be  realized  from  the  meadow.  An- 
other objection  to  this  method  is  the  temptation  to  pasture  the  stubble 
lands  during  the  heated  term  and  so  destroy  or  impair  the  vitality  of  the 
grasses.  If  the  soil  has  been  properly  prepared  and  a  sufficient  amount 
of  good  grass  seed  sown  alone  in  the  early  fall  one  may  expect  with  the 
greatest  confidence  a  good  crop  of  hay  the  succeeding  summer.  Often- 
times the  heaviest  crop  of  hay  is  the  first  one.  This  arises  from  the  fact 
that  close  mowing  the  first  year  frequently  kills  a  portion  of  the  meadow 
grasses,  leaving  bare  spots.  Grasshoppers  often  eat  the  crowns  of  the 
fresh  grass  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  and  so  thin  it  out.  Grazing  the  after- 
math, which  many  farmers  practice,  does  much  damage  to  the  meadow, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  injurious  effects  resulting  from  the  heavy  tread  of 
cattle,  especially  when  the  ground  is  soft  and  wet.  Tramped  in  this  con- 
dition the  soil  becomes,  after  exposure  to  the  sun,  little  better  than  a  sun 
dried  brick. 

It  frequently  happens  that  a  meadow  becomes  "hide-bound;"  that  is 
to  say,  the  soil  and  subsoil  run  together  and  become  very  compact  either 
from  tramping  of  stock  or  from  standing  water.  When  this  is  the  case 
the  grass  will  show  a  diminished  vitality  by  turning  yellow.  Under  these 
conditions  it  will  rarely  grow  tall  enough  to  be  mowed.  The  best  rem- 
edy for  this  "hide-bound"  condition  is  to  take  a  very  narrow  subsoil  plow 
with  a  coulter  attached  and  run  it  at  intervals  of  two  feet  through  the 
meadow  and  as  deep  as  possible.  This  will  roughen  some  places  but  by 
running  a  fine  toothed  harrow  over  it  it  may  be  made  sufficiently  level  for 
the  mower.  The  best  time  for  this  subsoiling  is  early  in  the  spring,  as 
soon  as  the  ground  becomes  dry  enough  to  plow.  Old  meadows  may  be 
made  productive  by  pursuing  this  plan  and  top-dressing  with  manure 
directly  afterwards.  This  same  treatment  should  be  given  to  pastures 
after  they  have  ceased  to  be  productive. 

MANURING  OF  MEADOWS— The  farmers  of  Tennessee  rarely 
cut  the  aftermath.  Sometimes  it  grows  high  enough  during  a  wet  sum- 


118 

mer  to  mow  but  they  usually  depasture  it.  In  fact  meadows  are  put  to 
their  severest  trials  after  they  are  mowed  in  June  or  July  in  consequence 
of  the  dry,  hot  weather  which  supervenes.  It  is  best  not  to  apply  stable 
manure  during  the  continuance  of  hot,  dry  weather  for  such  manure  has 
the  effect  of  making  the  meadow  still  dryer  and  of  attracting  a  number  of 
insects  that  cover  and  feed  upon  the  small  green  blades.  The  best  treat- 
ment after  mowing  is  to  top-dress  with  about  100  pounds  per  acre  of  the 
nitrate  of  soda.  This  preserves  the  verdure  of  the  grass.  In  two  or 
three  weeks  an  application  of  an  equal  quantity  of  bone  meal  or  the  super- 
phosphate of  lime  should  be  added.  Some  ammonia  in  the  form  of  sul- 
phate will  have  a  beneficial  effect.  Where  there  is  clover  gypsum  may 
always  be  applied  with  good  results.  After  the  fall  rains  begin  stable 
manure  should  be  applied  freely.  It  is  the  best  of  all  manures,  on  our 
soils,  for  grass  lands. 

Baron  Lawes  writing  in  1858  thought  that  "a  dressing  of  dung  once 
in  five  years  with  two  hundred  weight  of  the  nitrate  of  soda  each  year  for 
the  other  four  years"  was  the  very  best  manure  that  can  be  used.  Dr. 
Voelcker  was  of  the  opinion  that  good  barnyard  manure  is  "the  most 
efficacious  and  economical  manure  both  for  seeds  (of  clover)  and  per- 
manent pasture."  The  effect  of  bone  dust  on  meadow  lands  is  not 
thought  to  be  as  great  as  on  pasture  lands.  "Bone  meal  is  usually  wasted 
when  applied  on  cold  clay  soil."  Dr.  Voelcker  also  says:  "unfortunately 
the  application  of  artificial  manures  to  permanent  pastures  is  often  dis- 
appointing in  an  economical  point  of  view.  As  a  rule,  no  artificial 
manure  gives  so  favorable  a  return  as  good  farmyard  manure,  and  I  can- 
not help  thinking  that  it  would  be  more  profitable  for  a  farmer  to  apply 
the  larger  portion  of  his  yard  manure  rather  to  his  pasture  land  than  to 
the  arable  land;  for  there  is  no  difficulty  in  growing  roots  and  cereal 
crops  economically  with  artificial  manures." 

A  writer  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  in  1869 
says:  "After  much  experience,  I  think  manuring  grass  lands  is  one  of  the 
worst  subjects  to  treat.  I  have  seen  bones  applied  and  produce  no  good 
whatever;  and  on  the  other  hand,  I  have  seen  them  used  with  immense 
advantage.  I  have  seen  guano  produce  a  splendid  crop,  while  the  year 
following  the  crop  has  been  worse  than  before  guano  was  applied.  It  is 
impossible  to  give  any  definite  rules  without  knowing  the  kind  of  land  to 
be  manured,  and  other  attendant  circumstances.  Still,  money  judiciously 
laid  out  in  the  improvement  of  grass  land  brings  in  a  more  certain  return 
than  when  expended  in  the  growth  of  wheat." 

In  the  manuring  of  clover  fields  gypsum  will  greatly  increase  the  for- 
age but  not  the  seed.  Superphosphate  of  lime,  nitrate  of  potash  and  stable 
manure  are  much  better  for  increasing  the  yield  of  seed  and  should  be 
applied  to  the  clover  after  the  first  crop  has  been  cut  off  for  hay  or  de- 
pastured by  stock.  All  manures  will,  as  a  general  proposition,  so  in- 
crease the  strength  and  vitality  of  the  better  grasses  as  to  diminish  the 
weeds.  This  may  be  seen  by  the  application  of  stable  manure  to  a  broom 
sedge  field-  the  broom  sedge  disappears  and  the  better  grasses  assert  their 
sway. 

In  some  famous  experiments  conducted  by  Lawes  at  Rothamsted  in 


119 

England  it  was  clearly  shown  that  superphosphate  of  lime  was  favorable 
to  the  growth  of  the  true  grasses,  but  not  to  the  leguminous  plants.  Am- 
moniacal  salts  were  of  but  little  benefit  to  the  grass  when  applied  to  the 
meadow.  Nitrate  of  soda  increased  the  grasses  and  kept  them  green  for 
a  longer  period,  more  leaves  and  fewer  stems  being  the  result  of  the  ap- 
plication. A  mixture  of  superphosphate  of  lime  and  ammonia  had  pre- 
cisely the  same  effect  as  the  superphosphate  alone.  Mineral  manures 
alone  increased  the  leguminous  plants  and  diminished  the  grasses.  Min- 
eral manures  and  ammonia  increased  the  grasses  but  not  the  leguminous 
plants.  Mineral  manures  and  nitrate  of  soda  had  the  same  effect  as 
mineral  manures  and  ammonia.  Gypsum  produced  its  greatest  effect 
upon  leguminous  plants  but  its  effect  on  the  grasses  was  slight  The 
most  potent  application  was  farmyard  manure,  which  increased  the  hay 
grasses  and  the  leguminous  plants  and  encouraged  the  growth  of  many 
good  grasses  and  some  bad  ones,  as  well  as  some  noxious  weeds.  It  was 
by  far  the  best  application,  though  attended  with  some  undesirable  re- 
sults. The  general  conclusion  reached  was  that  drainage  is  highly  im- 
portant. The  application  of  mineral  manures,  such  as  potash,  lime,  gyp- 
sum and  marl,  is  followed  by  good  results,  though  attended  with  too  much 
expense.  The  use  of  bones  was  discouraged.  "The  grasses  proper  ap- 
pear to  be  the  most  strikingly  independent  of  any  artificial  supply  of  car- 
bon. The  hay  crop  is  more  exhaustive  of  potash  than  wheat  or  barley. 
A  predominance  of  mineral  elements  in  the  fertilizers  increased  the  pro- 
portion of  the  culms  of  grasses,  while  a  predominance  of  ammoniacal  salts 
increased  the  proportion  of  leaves.  Those  manures  which  much  increased 
the  produce  of  hay,  at  the  same  time  very  much  increased  the  proportion 
of  graminaceous  plants.  The  total  miscellaneous  herbage  (chiefly  weeds) 
were  the  m'ost  numerous  in  kind  and  nearly  in  the  greatest  proportion  on 
the  unmanured  land,  viz:  16  per  cent,  while  on  the  manured  plat  they  de- 
creased to  2  per  cent." 

In  summing  up  the  results  of  these  painstaking  and  suggestive  experi- 
ments, Baron  Lawes  says: 

"We  learn  from  these  results  that  good  pasture  grasses  can  never 
thrive  upon  a  poor  soil;  and  if  a  soil  does  not  contain  in  itself  the  ele- 
ments of  fertility  they  must  be  added  from  external  sources.  I  may  add 
that  if  the  pasture  of  a  rich  soil  deteriorates  from  bad  treatment  the  good 
grasses  do  not  die  out,  but  only  retire  from  the  contest  to  wait  for  better 
times.  Under  invigorating  treatment  it  will  be  found  that  the  good 
grasses  soon  reassert  their  supremacy. 

"The  general  result,  comparing  the  product  by  the  different  manures 
in  one  and  the  same  season,  seems  to  be  that  the  more  the  produce  is 
graminaceous  the  more  it  goes  to  flower  and  seed,  and  the  more  it  is 
ripened  the  higher  will  be  the  percentage  of  dry  substance  in  the  hay. 
Under  the  same  circumstances,  the  higher  will  be  the  percentage  of 
woody  fiber  and  the  lower  will  be  that  of  the  nitrogenous  compounds  and 
of  the  mineral  matter.  On  the  other  hand,  in  a  large  proportion  of  the 
non-graminaceous  herbage  the  reverse  of  these  things  is  true." 

TROUBLESOME  PLANTS  IN  MEADOWS— The  proper  care  of 
meadows  after  they  have  been  mowed  must  not  stop  with  the  application 
of  manures.  There  are  many  noxious  plants  and  weeds  that  spring  up 


120 

when  the  grasses  are  enfeebled  by  mowing,  especially  if  the  mowing  is 
followed  by  dry  weather.  The  most  pestiferous  of  these  is  broom  sedge 
(Andropogon  Virginicus).  If  left  alone  it  will  grow  to  the  height  of 
three  feet  after  the  hay  has  been  cut.  If  permitted  to  seed,  the  meadow 
will  show  a  largely  increased  number  of  these  plants  the  following  sea- 
son. Each  tussock  of  this  vile  grass  before  it  goes  to  seed  should  be  cut 
up  with  a  sharp  sprouting  hoe.  If  permitted  to  grow  the  meadow  will  be 
destroyed  in  a  very  few  years. 

Another  troublesome  plant  is  the  fleabane  (Erigeron  Philadelphicus) 
known  as  "white  top"  in  Tennessee.  This  will  thicken  on  suitable  soils 
very  rapidly.  There  is  no  remedy  for  this  except  running  the  mower 
over  the  meadow  before  the  seeds  ripen. 

The  trumpet  flower  (Tecoma  radicans)  infests  meadows  on  rich 
bottom  lands  and  it  is  especially  troublesome  on  strong  limestone  soils. 
When  cut  off  by  the  mower  it  forms  hard  knots  which  will  arrest  the  ac- 
tion of  the  sickle.  This  vine  should  be  dug  up  "root  and  branch."  While 
white  clover  and  blue  grass  are  both  great  enemies  to  the  meadow 
grasses,  their  presence  will  have  the  effect  of  rapidly  converting  a 
meadow  into  a  pasture. 

THE  HAY  HARVEST— The  first  grass  that  ripens  for  the  harvest 
in  Tennessee  is  the  Italian  rye  grass.  There  is  only  a  small  quantity  of 
land,  however,  laid  down  in  this  early  meadow  grass.  The  red  clover 
crop  demands  the  earliest  attention  from  a  majority  of  farmers.  This  is 
cut  for  hay  from  the  time  it  blooms  in  the  middle  of  May  until  the  middle 
of  June.  Varieties  of  soils  exert  a  perceptible  influence  upon  the  period 
of  inflorescence.  On  strong  limy  soils  clover  is  usually  ready  for  the 
mower  two  or  three  weeks  earlier  than  when  grown  on  cold  or  heavy  clay 
soils.  Timothy  and  herd's  grass  follow  soon  afterwards  and  the  harvest- 
ing of  these  usually  continues  until  the  middle  of  July.  Millet  grown  on 
strong  soils  is  harvested  in  about  sixty  days  after  it  is  sown.  It  is  not 
possible  to  define  the  precise  stage  in  which  grasses  should  be  cut,  for 
this  depends  upon  the  uses  to  be  made  of  the  hay  and  upon  the  character 
of  stock  to  be  fed.  If  the  object  is  to  produce  the  greatest  quantity  of 
milk,  grass  should  be  cut  before  coming  into  blossom,  for  at  that  stage  it 
contains  the  greatest  amount  of  succulence  and  will  produce  the  largest 
flow  of  milk.  If  the  richness  of  the  milk  is  desired  rather  than  quantity, 
grass  should  be  harvested  while  in  blossom.  For  work  horses,  mules  and 
oxen  and  for  fattening  cattle  the  harvesting  should  be  deferred  until  the 
seed  is  in  the  milky  state  and  the  blades  of  the  grass  are  still  green,  or 
at  least  but  slightly  spotted.  For  "roughness"  or  "distending"  forage 
the  hay  should  be  cut  when  only  a  portion  of  the  flowers  have  fallen.  At 
this  stage  it  is  filled  with  starch,  gum  and  sugar.  After  the  seeds  become 
ripe  these  ingredients  are  changed  into  woody  and  indigestible  fibre. 
The  se«ds  themselves,  indeed,  after  ripening  contain  a  large  amount  of 
very  nutritious  matter  but  the  value  of  the  hay  grasses  with  ripened  seed 
is  greatly  lessened  and  the  juicy  stalks  and  blades  will  be  worth  no  more 
than  wheat  straw.  With  wheat,  corn,  barley,  rye  and  oats  the  reverse  is 
true,  as  the  seeds  are  worth  much  more  than  the  forage  from  such  crops 
would  be  if  cut  when  in  flower. 

Prof.  Armsby  comes  to  the  following  conclusions  as  to  the  best  time 


121 

for  cutting  hay:  "Young  plants  while  rapidly  growing  contain  relatively 
more  protein  and  less  fibre  than  more  mature  ones;  consequently  early 
cut  fodder  must  be  of  better  quality  than  that  cut  late.  It  is  more 
digestible. 

''Three  elements  enter  into  the  problem  of  selecting  the  best  time  for 
cutting,  viz.:  the  quality  of  the  fodder,  its  quantity,  and  the  amount  of 
labor  expended  upon  it.  While  any  grass  is  ripening  a  large  part  of  the 
protein  and  starch  passes  from  the  leaves  and  stem  to  the  seeds,  which 
are  so  small  that  they  are  seldom  masticated  or  digested.  Moreover, 
they  are  easily  lost  in  curing.  The  hay  made  from  fully  ripe  grass  is 
essentially  straw. 

."If  only  one  crop  is  to  be  obtained,  probably  the  best  time  for  cutting 
is  usually  when  the  plants  are  just  beginning  to  blossom.  At  this  time 
a  larger  crop  is  obtained  than  if  cut  earlier,  while  the  digestibility  is  not 
seriously  impaired/' 

If  cut  early  there  is  a  great  advantage  to  the  second  crop,  as  shown 
by  an  experiment  at  Hohenheim: 


PERCENTAGE   OF 
PROTEIN 

TOTAL    POUNDS   OF 
PROTEIN 

TOTAL  DRY  MATTER, 
POUNDS 

One  cut  
Two  cuts  .  . 

16.3 
24.4 

434 

668 

2,662 
3,274 

One  cut — Percentage  of  protein,  16.3;  total  pounds  of  protein,  434; 
total  pounds  dry  matter,  2,662. 

Two  cuts — Percentage  of  protein,  24.4;  total  pounds  of  protein,  668; 
total  pounds  dry  matter,  3,274. 

"The  legumes  are  characterized  by  the  large  proportion  of  protein 
contained  in  the  plant  as  a  whole,  and  in  the  seeds.  As  fodders,  when 
properly  cut  and  cured,  they  are  very  rich,  but  have  the  disadvantage  of 
being  rather  bulky,  and  of  being  easily  subject  to  deterioration  by  me- 
chanical losses.  As  a  general  rule  clover  is  richer  in  nitrogenous  matters 
than  grass.  Compared  with  meadow  hay,  which  is  made  from  the  true 
grasses,  its  protein  is  about  equally  digestible,  its  crude  fibre  decidedly 
less  digestible." 

Full  instructions  have  been  given  in  Parts  I  and  II  as  to  the  proper 
method  of  curing  the  different  varieties  of  hay  and  forage  plants.  With 
the  improved  harvesting  machinery  and  implements  now  in  general  use 
consisting  of  the  mower,  tedder,  horse-rake,  six-tined  pitchfork  and  hay 
wagon  bodies,  the  expense  attendant  upon  saving  a  crop  of  hay  is  not 
one-fifth  as  great  as  it  was  when  farmers  had  to  rely  upon  the  scythe, 
wooden  pitch-forks  and  hand-rake.  This  great  reduction  in  the  cost  of 
harvesting  the  hay  crop  has  increased  the  product  many  times  throughout 
the  Southern  States. 

In  1880  the  production  of  hay  in  these  states  was  1,412,358  tons;  in 
1898,  4,386,669  tons.  The  yield  has  increased  from  .82  of  a  ton  per  acre 
in  1880  to  1.45  tons  per  acre  in  1898.  The  increase  in  the  State  of  Ten- 
nessee has  been  still  more  rapid  as  may  be  seen  by  the  following  table 
from  the  census  report; 


12-2 


HAY  PRODUCED  IN  TENNESSEE. 

1870 116,582  tons 

1880 180,698  tons 

1890 630,417  tons 

The  extraordinary  increase  during  the  past  ten  years  in  the  acreage 
sown  in  cowpeas  is  one  of  the  most  favorable  signs  in  southern  agricul- 
ture. It  will  be  one  of  the  marked  changes  that  will  appear  in  the  report 
of  the  twelfth  census.  Throughout  the  State  of  Tennessee  this  increase 
has  been  within  the  present  decade  fully  500  per  cent.  The  haulm  of  the 
pea  is  now  largely  employed  for  the  feeding  of  cattle  and  sheep  during 
the  winter  months.  Those  varieties  of  peas  that  produce  seed  not  subject 
to  early  decay  from  humidity  are  left  ungathered,  and  they  form  no  in- 


PASTURE,  CAMDEN,  BENTON  COUNTY,  TENN. 

considerable  item  in  reducing  the  expense  of  fattening  swine  and  of 
carrying  stock  through  the  stress  of  winter.  This  change  was  one  greatly 
needed,  for,  in  addition  to  furnishing  nutritious  food  for  stock,  the  pea 
crop  is  a  good  fertilizer.  Ncr  is  the  pea  crop  subject  to  the  disastrous 
failures  of  the  clover  crop,  though  yielding  a  forage  and  a  fruitage  equally 
as  valuable  to  the  farmers  of  the  South.  . 

PASTURES — Much  land  that  is  totally  unfit  for  meadows  may 
profitably  be  laid  down  in  pasture.  Such  lands  as  are  too  rough  for  cul- 
tivation often  make  the  very  best  pastures.  The  utilization  of  the  rough 
limestone  lands  of  Southwestern  Virginia  for  making  pastures  has  made 


123 

them  as  valuable  as  the  best  arable  lands  of  that  state.  On  these  pasture 
lands  hog-back  ridges  are  often  seen,  making  it  impossible  to  grow  any 
tillage  crop,  and  yet  these  lands  make  the  finest  blue  grass  pastures  in  the 
South,  not  excepting  those  in  Central  Kentucky,  and  are  worth  from  fifty 
to  a  hundred  dollars  per  acre  for  the  raising  of  cattle.  Likewise  in  some 
of  the  rough  lands  of  East  Tennessee  may  be  seen  strong  growing,  nutri- 
tious grasses  upon  lands  that  are  worthless  for  any  other  purpose  except 
for  pasture. 

In  selecting  grasses  for  the  pasture  an  opposite  course  must  be  pur- 
sued from  that  pursued  for  a  meadow.  In  the  latter  only  such  grasses 
should  be  sown  as  mature  about  the  same  time.  In  a  pasture,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  grasses  selected  should  form  a  succession  of  green  forage  from 
early  in  the  spring  until  late  in  the  fall.  Some  pasture  grasses  also  die 
out  after  the  first  year,  while  others  do  not  reach  their  greatest  value  for 
several  years  after  being  sown.  In  selecting  pasture  grasses  regard  must 
be  had  to  their  turf-making  qualities.  A  grass  may  be  eminently  adapted 
to  the  making  of  hay  and  yet  be  totally  unfit  for  the  pasture.  Our  best 
meadow  grass,  timothy,  will  not  survive  as  a  pasture  grass  because  it 
cannot  bear  the  close  cropping  and  heavy  tread  of  cattle. 

Some  grasses  are  relished  by  one  kind  of  stock  and  not  by  another. 
The  author  of  British  grasses,  M.  Pleues,  put  the  case  happily  thus: 
"Sheep  have  strong  likes  and  dislikes.  They  will  hasten  to  a  kind  of 
grass  which  is  a  favorite  with  them,  tramping  down  all  the  other  grasses 
as  unfit  to  taste.  Horses,  again,  have  their  preference  and  cows  theirs, 
and  we  have  even  seen  swine  exercise  considerable  cunning  to  secure  a 
feed  of  a  favorite  grass.  So  the  agriculturist  has  as  much  to  consider  as  a 
master  of  ceremonies;  he  must  consult  the  capabilities  of  situation,  the 
qualities  of  his  provision,  and  the  various  tastes  of  his  company." 

In  the  selection  of  a  situation  for  pasture  it  is  highly  important  that 
the  soil  be  naturally  moist  in  its  character.  Pastures  suffer  more  in  the 
South  from  dry  than  from  cold  weather  or  heavy  grazing.  When  they 
occupy  a  thirsty  soil  they  may  furnish  good  grazing  during  the  wet 
spring  months,  but  the  grasses  parch  to  a  crisp  when  the  hot  weather  of 
July  and  August  comes  on.  Early  pastures  do  well  on  southern  slopes, 
but  low  level  bottom  lands  or  north  hillsides  having  rich  soils  can  only 
be  depended  upon  for  good  pasturage  during  the  heat  and  dryness  of 
summer. 

The  best  grasses  for  pasture  lands  in  Tennessee  are  the  following: 

Blue  grass — (Poa  pratensis. ) 

June  grass — (Poa  compressa.} 

Orchard  grass — ( Dactylis  glomerata. ) 

Meadow  fescue — ( Festuca  pratensis. ) 

Hard  fescue — (Festuca  duriuscula.}' 

Herd's  grass — (Agrostis  alba. ) 

Bermuda  grass — (Cynodon  dactyl  on.} 

Meadow  foxtail — (Alopecurus  pratensis.} 

Sheep's  fescue — (Festuca  ovina.} 

White  clover — (  Trifolium  repens.} 

Red  clover — (  Trifolium  pratense. ) 

Four  or  five  of  these  grasses,  the  names  of  which  are  given  above, 
should  be  sown  together  in  the  fall  of  the  year  on  land  intended  for  a  per- 


124 

manent  pasture.  The  larger  the  number  of  grasses  sown  on  a  pasture 
the  longer  the  pasture  will  last  and  the  fewer  the  vacant  spots,  especially 
if  it  is  on  land  capable  of  retaining  moisture.  In  Holland,  one  of  the 
finest  grass  countries  in  the  world,  the  meadows  are  often  depastured 
during  one  year  and  cut  for  hay  the  following  year,  and  so  on  alternately. 
In  that  country  it  requires  about  two  acres  of  pasture  land  to  fatten  a 
large  ox.  In  the  bottoms  of  the  greatest  fertility  along  the  Rhine  an 
extent  of  surface  equal  to  1800  square  yards  is  calculated  to  keep  a  cow. 

The  farmers  of  Tennessee  should  have  more  permanent  pastures  than 
they  have  at  present. 

GRASSES  SUITABLE  FOR  LAWNS— Many  people  with  subur- 
ban places  and  farmers  wishing  to  beautify  and  adorn  their  homes  have 
asked  for  a  mixture  of  grasses  suitable  for  lawns  and  woodland  pastures. 
To  gratify  this  desire  the  subjoined  mixtures  with  the  amount  of  seed  to 
be  sown  per  acre  are  recommended.  A  few  of  these  grasses  are  unfit  for 
general  cultivation  in  the  State  of  Tennessee,  and  yet  as  a  mixture  in 
lawns  they  may  be  sown  with  almost  a  certainty  of  securing  a  good 
stand.  If  it  is  intended  to  mow  the  lawn  or  yard  frequently  the  follow- 
ing mixture  may  be  used: 

Kentucky    blue    grass 10  Ibs. 

Hard  fescue   5  Ibs. 

Wood  meadow  grass   5  Ibs. 

Sheep   fescue    2  Ibs. 

Meadow  fescue    4  Ibs. 

Sweet  scented  vernal  grass  2  Ibs. 

Red  top   15  Ibs. 

Yellow  oat  grass   4  Ibs. 

Crested  dog's  tail  6  Ibs. 

Orchard  grass 5  Ibs. 

Meadow   foxtail    .  5  Ibs. 


63  Ibs. 

Flint  recommends  as  a  mixture  for  permanent  lawns  and  pastures 
lying  within  the  vicinity  of  dwellings  or  public  highways  the  following,  to 
which  I  have  added  one  or  two  other  grasses: 

Meadow   foxtail    3  Ibs. 

Sweet  scented  vernal  2  Ibs. 

Orchard    grass    3  Ibs. 

Hard   fescue    2  Ibs. 

Sheep's  fescue    2  Ibs. 

Meadow    fescue    2  Ibs. 

Italian   rye   grass    3  Ibs. 

Perennial  rye  grass   4  Ibs. 

Timothy    3  Ibs. 

Red  top   3  Ibs. 

English  blue  grass 5  Ibs. 

Rou^h-stalked   meadow    3  Ibs. 

Yellow  oat  grass   1  lb. 

Red  clover    2  Ibs. 

Perennial  red  clover   2  Ibs. 

White   clover    - 4  Ibs. 

Fowl  meadow  grass   3  Ibs. 

Kentucky  blue  grass  14  Ibs. 

61  Ibs. 


125 

In  the  selection  of  these  grasses  for  lawns  the  idea  of  beauty  should 
be  preserved  as  well  as  the  nutritiousness  of  the  grasses.  Some  grasses 
will  grow  and  maintain  their  verdure  throughout  the  dry  season,  giving 
a  freshness  to  the  lawn,  and  yet  will  be  of  but  small  value  for  the  grazing 
of  stock. 

The  following  mixture  is  also  suggested,  which  will  probably  do  bet- 
ter on  argillaceous  soils  thinly  shaded  than  the  first  mixture  named: 

Tall  oat  grass    \l/z  Ibs. 

Tall    fescue    1^4  Ibs. 

Meadow  fescue    1^4  Ibs. 

Meadow    foxtail    1  .    lb. 

Orchard    grass    2      Ibs. 

Hard  fescue    1       lb. 

Sheep's   fescue   2      Ibs. 

Quaking   grass    *4  lb. 

Comb  grass    V?.  lb. 

Sweet  scented  vernal    1       ]b. 

Timothy    ^  lb. 

Kentucky  blue  grass   14      Ibs. 

Red  top    10      Ibs. 

Tufted  hair  grass   *4  lb. 

Red  clover    5      Ibs. 

White  clover Ibs. 

Fowl   meadow    .  2       Ibs. 


44^  Ibs. 

For  orchards  and  shady  places  the  following  mixture  of  grasses  and 
the  quantity  of  seed  per  acre  will  be  found  suitable: 

Orchard   grass   20  Ibs. 

Hard  fescue   2  Ibs. 

Tall   fescue    ..  2  Ibs. 

Italian  rye  grass   Ibs. 

Perennial  rye  grass   3  Ibs. 

Timothy  6  Ibs. 

Red  top 10  Ibs. 

Wood  meadow  grass    4  Ibs. 

Rough-stalked  meadow  grass   2  Ibs. 

English  blue  grass 4  Ibs. 

Perennial  red  clover  3  Ibs. 

White  clover    .                      4  Ibs. 


63  Ibs. 

For  rocky  or  gravelly  lands  the  following  mixture  is  recommended: 

Red  top  ..." 2  Ibs. 

Tall  oat   2  Ibs. 

Crested  dog's  tail  3  Ibs. 

Orchard    grass    3  Ibs. 

Red  fescue    4  Ibs. 

Meadow  soft  grass   2  Ibs. 

Perennial  rye  grass   6  Ibs. 

Timothy   6  Ibs. 

Wood   meadow  grass    3  Ibs. 

English   blue   grass    2  Ibs. 

Rough-stalked  meadow  grass   2  Ibs. 

Black  medic  3  Ibs. 

White  clover    8  Ibs. 

46  Ibs. 


126 


Lands  liable  to  be  overflowed  with  fresh  water  will  do  best  if  sown 
with  the  following  mixture: 

Fiorin    4  Ibs. 

English    Bent  3  Ibs. 

Tall  fescue    5  Ibs. 

Slender  fescue   2  Ibs. 

Manna  grass  5  Ibs. 

Reed  canary  grass   3  Ibs. 

Timothy   4  Ibs. 

Red  top   3  Ibs. 

Rough-stalked  meadow  grass    4  Ibs. 

Fowl  meadow  grass   6  Ibs. 

White  clover   .  3  Ibs. 


42  Ibs. 

Prof.  Beal,  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  recommends  the  sowing 
of  two  bushels  of  Kentucky  blue  grass  and  two  bushels  of  small  bent 


VIEW  ox  LAWN,  UNIVERSITY  OF  TENNESSEE. 


grass,  known  as  Rhode  Island  bent,  brown  bent,  or  creeping  bent,  or  red 
top,  to  the  acre  for  lawns.  He  thinks  a  few  ounces  of  white  clover  seed 
might  be  added,  but  it  is  by  no  means  important.  The  bent  grasses,  so- 
called,  correspond  with  our  herd's  grass.  He,  as  well  as  Prof.  Scribner, 
objects  to  the  sowing  of  orchard  grass  in  a  lawn.  My  observation  and 
experience  convince  me  that  when  orchard  grass  is  sown  at  the  rate  of 
three  or  four  bushels  of  seed  per  acre  in  a  woodland  pasture  where  most 
of  the  trees  are  oak  it  does  better  than  the  finer  grasses,  because  it  is  a 


127 

stronger  grower  and  is  able  to  withstand  the  damaging  effects  of  the 
heavy  oak  leaves.  Being  sown  thickly  it  covers  the  ground  completely 
and  will  not  appear  in  a  tussocky  form  for  two  or  three  years.  My  opin- 
ion is  that  orchard  grass  in  such  situations  is  to  be  preferred  to  any  other. 
Lawns  should  be  sown  with  about  double  the  number  of  seed  that  is  used 
for  a  pasture.  The  object  is  to  have  the  ground  covered.  The  seed 
should  be  sown  without  any  ''nurse  crop." 

In  the  preparation  of  lands  for  a  lawn  the  greatest  care  must  be 
taken  to  have  the  soil  enriched  and  raked  until  it  is  as  fine  as  garden 
mold.  No  clods  or  stumps  or  rocks  should  be  left  on  the  surface.  After 
the  seed  is  sown  the  lawn  should  be  rolled  and  as  far  as  possible  all  the 
little  inequalities  in  the  surface  filled.  Frequent  mowing  of  lawns  is  the 
only  method  of  preserving  their  attractiveness  and  beauty.  The  grass 
should  never  be  permitted  to  seed. 

Bermuda  grass  makes  a  beautiful  lawn,  but  is  apt  to  turn  brown  the 
latter  part  of  the  summer.  Where  there  is  a  sufficient  supply  of  water  to 
keep  the  ground  moist  by  sprinkling  it  forms  a  beautiful  covering  for  the 
yards  and  lawns  of  the  Southern  States. 

The  question  in  the  South  is  not  so  much  what  will  make  the  most 
attractive  lawns,  but  what  grasses  will  best  resist  the  heat  of  the  long 
summers.  Any  grass,  however,  will  look  better  than  the  bare  earth,  and 
every  effort  should  be  made  to  have  the  wooded  lawns  and  the  shady 
yards  covered  with  verdure. 

THE  HIGHWAY  PASTURES  OF  TENNESSEE  AND  THEIR 
NUTRITIOUS  HERBAGE. 

Probably  no  state  in  the  Union,  lying  east  of  the  Mississippi  river, 
has  such  a  wealth  of  highway  pastures  as  Tennessee.  These  pastures  are 
common  in  every  division  of  the  state.  In  East  Tennessee  the  "balds"  of 
the  Unaka  mountains,  at  an  elevation  of  5000  feet  above  the  sea,  are  well 
watered  and  are  supplied  with  rich  soils  upon  which  several  grasses  and 
leguminous  plants  grow  luxuriantly  and  furnish  good  grazing  for  stock 
several  months  in  the  year.  The  areas  of  these  natural  mountain  pastures 
are  limited,  but  in  their  capacity  for  carrying  stock  they  are  not  surpassed 
by  an  equal  area  of  the  best  blue  grass  pastures  of  Kentucky.  The  fre- 
quent rains  in  the  mountain  district  during  the  growing  season  with  the 
fertility  of  the  black  granitic  prairie  soils  induce  a  rapid  growth  of  the 
wild  grasses  so  that  there  is  a  continuous  succession  of  nutritious  her- 
bage from  April  until  October.  During  this  period  all  kinds  of  stock- 
horses,  cattle,  sheep  and  swine,  feed  on  these  grasses  unvexed  by  the  flies 
that  so  often  torment  stock  on  valley  plains.  In  many  of  the  open  woods 
of  East  Tennessee  lying  at  the  base  of  the  mountains  are  found  growing 
in  spring  and  summer  wild  grasses  and  other  plants  of  great  value  for 
grazing  purposes. 

But  the  most  extensive  highway  pastures  in  the  State  are  found  on 
the  Cumberland  table-land  at  an  elevation  of  2000  feet  above  the  sea. 
Broad,  grassy  stretches  of  open  woods,  and  acclivities  green  with  verdant 
turf,  characterize  the  top  of  this  table-land  everywhere  except  in  those 
places  where  the  abundant  underbrush  has  choked  out  the  grass.  In  trav- 


128 


eling  over  the  grassy  undulations  of  the  top  of  this  natural  division  of  the 
State  in  the  spring  of  the  year  one  is  able  to  realize  the  description  of  the 
pastoral  countries  of  the  Orient  "with  cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills."  Hun- 
dreds of  streams  with  thousands  of  contributing  rivulets  furnish  the 
purest  of  water,  while  the  park-like  landscapes  with  their  beautiful  arbo- 
real growth  of  pine,  oak,"  chestnut,  gum  and  other  trees  supply  grateful 
shade  to  the  stock  during  the  heat  of  the  day.  The  sun  shines  upon  those 
airy  heights  with  a  splendor  unknown  elsewhere  in  the  State,  and  breezes 
sweep  over  the  mountain  during  the  fervor  of  the  day,  tempering  the  air 
and  making  one  of  the  most  delightful  summer  climates  to  be  found  in 
America.  The  purity  and  elasticity  of  the  air  make  this  whole  region  one 
of  greatest  healthfulness  to  man  and  beast.  When  passing  through  the 


Panicum  latifolium. 

silent  forests  of  the  mountain  the  earth  covered  with  untrodden  grasses 
and  emblazoned  with  mvriads  of  wild  flowers — "born  to  blush  unseen" — 
it  requires  no  great  stretch  of  the  imagination  to  suppose  the  landscape  to 
be  now  as  it  was  before  the  discovery  of  America  by  Columbus,  when  it 
existed  in  all  its  primeval  beauty.  There  are  no  natural  pasture  lands  in 
America  that  surpass  the  pastures  of  the  Cumberland  table-land  when  the 
healthfulness  of  the  region,  its  freedom  from  blizzards,  its  ample  supplies 
of  shade  and  water  and  its  beautiful  situation  are  taken  into  consideration. 
The  grasses  spring  up  in  April,  grow  until  late  in  November,  and  often- 
times supply  some  grazing  throughout  the  winter  months.  The  area  of 
this  division  of  the  state  is  over  3,200,000  acres  of  which  not  less  than 
2,300,000  acres  are  given  up  to  natural  pastures. 

Lying  west  'of  the  Cumberland  table-land  is  the  region  about  900  feet 
above  the  sea  known  as  the  Highland  Rim  that  encircles  the  great  central 
limestone  basin  of  the  State.  This  Highland  Rim  comprises  nearly  6,000,- 


129 


000  acres,  one-third  of  which  area  is  devoted  to  highway  pastures.  West 
of  Nashville  in  the  counties  of  Cheatham,  Dickson,  Hickman,  Hum- 
phreys, Lewis,  Wayne,  Perry,  Houston  and  Stewart,  not  over  one-fifth 
of  the  land  is  in  cultivation.  Out  of  the  2,699,520  acres  embraced  in  these 
counties  only  481,456  were  returned  by  the  census  of  1890  as  improved 
lands.  The  remainder  was  in  woodlands  and  natural  pastures. 

The  highway  pastures  in  West  Tennessee  are  not  so  extensive  as  they 
are  in  the  other  two  grand  divisions  of  the  State.  These  pastures  are  con- 
fined mainly  to  the  Mississippi  bottoms  where  a  dense  growth  of  cane 
keeps  a  large  number  of  cattle  throughout  the  year. 

The  wild  grasses  and  legumes  that  are  found  in  the  highway  pastures 
of  Tennessee  are  numerous.  The  most  valuable  ones  with  their  habitat 
are  the  following: 


Barnyard  Grass — Panicitm  crus-galli. 

GRASSES  IN  HIGHWAY  PASTURES. 

Andropogons  (beard  grasses). — There  are  several  species  of  these 
grasses.  Among  others  may  be  named:  Andropogon  scoparius,  Andro- 
pogon  provincialis,  Andropogon  argyraeus,  Andropogon  macrourus,  and 
Andropogon  Virginicus. 

Andropogcn  scoparius  (mountain  sedge)  has  long  been  known  in  the 
mountains  of  East  Tennessee.  By  some  it  has  been  confounded  with  the 
Andropogon  Virginicus.  It  is  a  good  pasture  grass  when  young  and 
tender,  but  when  it  shoots  up  its  culms  it  becomes  hard  and  indigestible. 
It  is  not  general  over  the  State. 

Andropogon  provincialis,  var.  furcatus,  Tennesseensis  and  others, 
(big  blue  stem)  though  growing  taller  and  stouter  than  the  Andropogon 
Virginicus,  does  not  so  readily  take  possession  of  old  fields  and  meadows 
but  prefers  open  woods  and  retired  nooks  and  dry  soils.  The  stems  are 


181 


very  leafy.  It  supplies  good  grazing  and  is  not  so  troublesome  as  the 
Andropogon  Virginicus.  When  cut  young  it  makes  a  very  good  hay.  It 
is  not  worthy  of  cultivation  but  it  answers  a  very  useful  purpose  in  the 
highway  pastures  in  every  part  of  the  State.  Samuel  M.  Ramsey,  of 
Warren  county,  tried  it  for  butter-making  as  against  some  of  the  domes- 
ticated grasses  and  claimed  that  it  made  butter  of  better  flavor  and  quality, 
and  more  of  it  than  herd's  grass  or  blue  grass. 

Andropogon  argyraeus  (silver  beard  grass.)  This  is  a  native  grass, 
found  in  East  Tennessee  among  the  mountains  and  on  the  borders  of 
woods.  It  is  rarer  than  either  of  the  other  species  mentioned  and  proba- 
bly is  of  no  importance  as  a  grazing  grass.  It  is  easily  recognized  by  its 
dense  silky  and  silvery  white  flowers  in  September. 

Andropogon  macrourus  (cluster  flowered  beard  grass).  This  grows 
on  wet  or  swampy  lands  and  very  much  resembles -the  next  to  be  men- 


Setaria  viridis. 

tioned.     It  is  found  at  intervals  all  over  the  State.     It  is  not  so  valuable 
for  grazing  as  the  broom  sedge,,  though  cattle  will  eat  it  in  early  spring. 

Andropogon  Virginicus  (broom  sedge).  This  grass  is  very  palatable 
to  stock  when  young  and  tender  but  totally  worthless  when  its  culms  be- 
gin to  shoot  up.  It  is  the  best  known  grass  in  the  State  and  grows  in 
almost  every  locality.  It  is  a  great  enemy  to  meadows  and  will  soon  take 
possession  of  them  if  not  resisted  vigorously.  It  is  the  grass  that  takes 
possession  of  all  "old  fields"  in  every  part  of  the  State.  While  furnishing 
good  grazing  in  early  spring  for  all  classes  of  stock,  during  the  summer 
after  its  stems  shoot  up  the  grass  becomes  so  tough  and  indigestible  that 
no  stock  will  touch  it.  After  frost  it  turns  brown  and  is  an  eyesore  to 
every  landscape  where  it  makes  its  appearance.  Its  only  value  consists 
in  its  capacity  to  furnish  early  grazing  and  its  agency  in  the  stopping  of 


132 


gullies.  By  many  it  is  regarded  as  the  flag  of  sterility,  but  this  is  not  true 
as  it  will  grow  more  vigorously  upon  rich  than  on  depleted  soils.  It  is 
one  of  the  leading  grasses  in  open  woods  and  highway  pastures. 

Panicum  latifolium  (broad  leaved  panic  grass).  This  grass  is  fre- 
quent in  the  open  woods  of  the  Highland  Rim.  It  grows  to  the  height 
of  one  to  two  feet  but  it  grows  intermixed  with  other  plants  and  does  not 
seek  companionship  of  its  own  kind.  It  is  a  good  pasture  grass,  bears 
close  cropping  and  grows  rapidly  and  constantly. 

Panicum  clandestinum  (hidden  panic  grass).  Much  like  the  last  but 
coming  in  a  month  later.  It  grows  in  a  solitary  manner  and  is  found 
along  the  banks  of  the  Cumberland  river  and  in  bottom  lands  in  East 
and  West  Tennessee. 

Panicum  crus-galli  (barnyard  grass).  Stock  will  eat  this  as  greedily 
as  any  other  species  of  grass  whatever.  It  is  a  coarse  grass  and  its  favor- 


Paspalum  distichum. 


ite  habitat  is  in  drained  ponds  and  marshes.  It  will  grow  with  great 
vigor  in  ditches  and  low  bottom  lands  and  furnishes  good  grazing  for 
stock. 

Setaria  (foxtail  grass).  There  are  several  wild  species  of  this  grass 
that  furnish  some  grazing  when  young  and  tender.  Setaria  viridis  (green 
foxtail)  is  common  to  all  stubble  lands  and  consorts  with  crab  grass 
(Panicum  sanguinale.)  Setaria  verticillata,  or  bristly  foxtail,  is  probably 
the  best  wild  species  for  grazing.  The  millet  grasses  belong  to  this 
genus.  They  have  been  treated  in  Part  I. 

Paspalum.  Among  the  wild  indigenous  grasses  there  are  several 
species  of  this  genus  that  are  held  in  high  repute  as  grazing  grasses. 
Paspalum  distichum.  Paspalum  digitaria  and  Paspalum  angustifolium 


133 

are  all  numbered  among  the  grasses  found  in  cultivated  fields  and  fre- 
quently in  the  highway  pastures  of  the  "barrens"  and  indeed  in  nearly 
every  natural  division  of  the  state. 

Elymus  Virginicus  (lyme  grass)  grows  abundantly  in  Middle  Ten- 
nessee on  strong,  limy  soils  but  it  forms  no  turf.  It  is  found  near  woods 
and  thickets,  and  stock  is  fond  of  it.  There  are  three  or  four  species  be- 
longing to  the  genus  Elymus  but  only  one  other  is  eaten  by  stock  and 
that  is  Elymus  Canadensis,  or  Terrell  grass.  This  is  usually  found  on  the 
banks  of  streams. 

Danthonia  compressa  (mountain  oat  grass).  This  is  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal grasses  on  the  "balds"  of  the  mountains  in  East  Tennessee.  They 
will  bear  the  closest  grazing  and  are  highly  esteemed  in  the  mountain 
region. 

Danthonia  spicata  is  another  species  of  this  grass  found  growing  on 
the  Harpeth  hills  of  Middle  Tennessee  and  over  parts  of  West  Tennes- 
see. It  is  one  of  the  grasses  furnishing  grazing  on  the  highway  pas- 
tures of  the  Highland  Rim. 


Mountain  Oat  Grass — Danthonia  compressa. 

ARUNDINARIA  (cane).  There  are  two  species  of  this  grass  found 
in  Tennessee,  viz:  Arundinaria  gigantea  and  Arundinaria  tecta.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  these  two  are  really  varieties  of  the  same  species.  In  the  first 
settlement  of  the  State  cane  was  the  principal  dependence  for  stock  graz- 
ing in  the  summer  and  in  many  sections  the  whole  face  of  the  country 
was  covered  with  it.  The  shoots  of  the  young  cane  are  both  succulent 
and  nutritious.  It  grows  best  on  the  richest  land,  but  if  the  poorest  soil 
is  once  set  with  it,  it  acts  as  a  fertilizer.  This  is  to  be  attributed  to  its 
wonderful  net-work  of  roots,  the  immense  foliage  it  deposits  on  the  soil, 
and  to  its  dense  shade.  It  is  a  very  difficult  matter  to  break  up  cane  land, 


134 


but  once  broken,  the  roots  quickly  rot  and  add  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil. 
The  roots  run  to  a  surprising  length  and  depth,  and  serve  as  pumps  to 
raise  dormant  fertilizing  material  from  below  the  reach  of  any  plow. 

The  farmers  living  near 'the  Mississippi  bottoms  find  the  immense 
cane-brakes  in  that  region  exceedingly  .useful.  They  are  in  the  habit 
of  driving  their  stock  to  them,  and  the  most  luxuriant  pasturage  is  ob- 
tained, both  summer  and  winter.  Cane  will  not  grow  in  standing  water, 
as  the  presence  of  water  destroys  its  roots.  Therefore,  it  is  only  found  on 
land  elevated  above  the  swamps. 

FESTUCA — The  genus  Festuca  contains  many  species  that  are  high- 
ly valued  for  grazing  purposes.  Several  of  the  fescue  grasses  have  been 
already  treated  in  Part  I.  The  sheep  fescue  is  one  of  the  principal  grasses 


Cane — Arundinaria  tecta. 

found  growing  on  the  mountain  soils  of  East  Tennessee  and  in  other  por- 
tions of  the  State  where  there  are  light,  thin  and  siliceous  soils.  The 
red  fescue  (Festuca  rubra  glaucescens)  called  also  Tennessee  fescue,  is  an 
admirable  native  grass.  It  makes  a  good  pasture  where  many  other 
grasses  would  fail.  Nodding  fescue  (Festuca  nutans)  is  most  frequently 
seen  about  thickets.  Sheep  will  eat  it  but  do  not  relish  it  so  much  as  they 
do  the  sheep  fescue.  Short's  fescue  (Festuca  Shortii)  is  probably  a 
variety  of  the  same  grass. 

POA — Many  species  of  this  genus  have  already  been  treated  in  full  in 
Part  I.  Several  of  them  grow  with  great  luxuriance  among  the  high 
mountains  of  East  Tennessee.  The  writer  has  seen  the  densest  turfs  of 
low  spear  grass  (Poa  annua),  leafy  meadow  grass  (Poa  alsodes)  and 
short  meadow  grass  (Poa  brevifolia)  growing  in  the  elevated  valleys  of 
Johnson  county  and  on  the  crests  of  Iron  and  Roane  mountains.  Ken- 
tucky blue  grass  also  grows  well  in  the  same  situations  and  gives  richness 
to  the  mountain  pastures. 


186 

Other  species  of  this  family  are  common  along  the  river  banks  of 
East,  Middle  and  West  Tennessee.  The  genus  Poa  is  probably  the  most 
raluable  of  all  genera  of  grasses  for  grazing  purposes.  Scribner  mentions 


Tennessee  Fescue — Festuca  rubra  glaucesceiis. 

fourteen  species  as  growing  in  Tennessee.     Every  species  is  more  or  less 
vakiable. 

EATON! A— But  a  single  species  of  this  genus,  Eatonia  Pennsylvania 
is  of  any  value  for  grazing  purposes.     This  grass  is  found  in  abundance  in 


No.iding  Fescue — Festuca  nutans. 


136 


Middle  Tennessee  and  in  moist,  open  places  on  the  borders  of  woods  in 
all  parts  of  the  state.  It  is  a  valuable  addition  to  the  native  grasses  and 
cattle  seem  to  relish  it  more  than  any  other  wild  grass.  A  species  known 
as  Eatonia  filiformis  grows  on  the  dry  hills  of  the  cretaceous  formation  in 
West  Tennessee,  but  while  cattle  will  eat  it  in  the  absence  of  other  grasses 
it  is  not  of  much  agricultural  value. 

Diarrhena  Americana  (American  Diarrhena)  is  found  growing  on 
the  rich  soils  among  limestone  rocks.  Its  feeding  value  is  about  equal  to 
that  of  cheat. 

Eleusine  Indica  (yard  grass:  dog's  tail)  is  frequent  in  all  places 
where  there  are  human  habitations  or  have  been.  In  many  abandoned 
places  on  the  Highland  Rim  it  grows  very  rank.  It  constitutes  one  of 


Ea  to n ia  Pen nsylva  n  tea . 

the  wild  pasture  grasses  that  will  make  good  and  lasting  pickings  for  all 
kinds  of  stock.  . 

Bouteloua  curtipendula  (horse  shoe  grass)  grows  on  dry  soils  and  in 
pine  barrens  in  various  parts  of  the  State.  It  makes  a  dense  turf  which 
will  bear  tramping  well.  It  is  one  of  .the  best  native  grasses  for  highway 
pastures  among  cedar  glades. 

Muhlenbergia  diffusa  (nimble  will)  is  an  indigenous  and  perennial 
grass.  It  forms  a  dense  mat  on  limestone  soils  and  in  river  bottoms. 
The  writer  has  seen  it  growing  in  the  woods  four  and  a  half  feet  high. 
There  is  a  great  difference  of  opinion  as  to  its  feeding  value.  Dr.  F.  H. 
Gordon  maintained  that  it  was  one  of  the  most  nutritious  of  the  wild 
grasses  and  said  that  this  was  demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  much  of  the 
beef  and  mutton  sold  in  the  Nashville  and  Memphis  markets  was  fat- 
tened on  nimble  will.  On  limestone  lands  thinly  wooded  and  where  blue 
grass  has  not  already  obtained  possession,  nimble  will  furnishes  good 
pasturage  for  five  or  six  months  in  the  year.  Dr.  Gattinger,  on  the  con- 


187 


trary,  thinks  all  species  of  the  Muhlenbergia  make  very  poor  forage  and 
are  not  eaten  by  stock  unless  they  are  compelled  to  do  so  by  the  absence 
of  more  nutritious  grasses.  The  writer  is  inclined  to  think  that  the  qual- 
ity of  this  grass  is  affected  by  the  soil  upon  which  it  grows. 

Mexican  Muhlenbergia  is  another  species  that  is  highly  commended 
by  some  writers.  Dr.  C.  E.  Bessey,  of  Nebraska,  says  this  grass  has 
been  known  in  the  West  for  many  years  as  a  valuable  one.  "Chemical 
analyses,"  he  continues,  "show  that  Muhlenberg  grass  is  highly  nutritious. 
In  the  years  1878  and  1879,  at  my  suggestion,  Mr. W.K.Robinson,  a  grad- 
uate of  the  Iowa  Agricultural  College,  made  analyses  of  this  grass,  with 
results  which  showed  that  in  nutritiousness  it  ranked  with  red  top  and 


Nimble  Will— Muhlenbergia  diffusa. 

blue  grass,  and,  in  some  instances,  timothy.  More  recent  analyses  by 
the  government  chemist  at  Washington  make  a  still  better  showing. 
Taking  an  average  of  the  analyses  I  find  the  following  results: 

"Timothy  contains  4  1-3  per  cent,  of  albuminoids. 

"Orchard  grass  contains  G  1-2  per  cent,  of  albuminoids. 

"Red  top  contains  6  2-3  per  cent,  of  albuminoids. 

"Blue  grass  contains  8  per  cent,  of  albuminoids. 

"Muhlenberg  grass  contains  17  2-5  per  cent,  of  albuminoids. 

"That  is,  Muhlenberg  grass  is  more  than  twice  as  nutritious,  weight 
for  weight,  as  blue  grass.  It  is  nearly  three  times  as  nutritious  as  red 
top  and  orchard  grass,  and  about  four  times  as  nutritious  as  timothy. 
Now  I  would  not  for  a  moment  be  understood  as  considering  these  an- 
alyses as  settling  the  relative  merits  of  these  grasses.  It  is  well  known, 
however,  that  the  analysis  of  a  grass  is  one  of  the  important  factors  in 
determining  its  value,  and  I  bring  it  in  here  as  simply  corroborating  what 
the  feeders  of  hay  have  been  saying  for  a  long  time." 

There  are  four  or  five  species  of  this  grass  found  growing  on  wooded 
lands  in  Tennessee.  All  of  them  remain  green  until  winter.  In  their 


188 


general  appearance  they  resemble  small  cane  from  the  hardness  and  en- 
amelled surface  of  the  stalks  and  the  stiff  aspect  of  the  leaves.  They  fur- 
nish pickings  to  stock  until  December.  Their  creeping  rootstocks  are 
very  troublesome  on  cultivated  grounds,  especially  on  newly  opened  bot- 
tom lands  and  much  resemble  those  of  Bermuda  grass. 

Sporobolus  Indicus  (drop  seed  grass)  is  said  to  be  a  good  grass  in 
wild  pastures.  It  is  soft  and  succulent,  springs  up  quickly  after  being 
grazed  and  will  last  from  May  until  October.  It  usually  grows  in  patches 
and  in  low  and  small  tufts.  It  is  very  palatable  to  cattle.  In  the  West 
several  species  of  Sporobolus  furnish  good  winter  pastures.  Sporobolus 
asper  is  another  species  found  in  Tennessee  and  grows  mainly  on  the 
Cumberland  table-land  on  sandy  soils  and  in  the  oak  barrens  of  the  High- 


Muhlenbergia  Mexicana. 

land  Rim  on  siliceous  soils.  It  forms  one  of  the  least  nutritious  wild 
grasses  in  the  highway  pastures  of  these  regions. 

Zizania  aquatica  (water  or  Indian  rice  grass)  is  found  in  the 
swampy  regions  of  West  Tennessee.  It  has  flat  leaves  two  to  three  feet 
long  and  its  culms  grow  to  the  height  of  three  to  nine  feet.  It  is  found 
in  swamps  and  on  the  borders  of  sluggish  streams.  In  some  pastures  of 
the  west  the  seed  is  gathered  by  the  Indians  and  made  into  a  species  of 
mush  or  bread  which  they  relish  greatly.  Cattle  are  fond  of  the  herbage 
and  Dr.  Gattinger  states  that  in  its  feeding  value  an  acre  of  it  is  equal  to 
an  acre  of  wheat.  The  seed  is  eaten  by  red  birds. 

The  foregoing,  with  the  grasses  described  in  Part  I  constitute  the 
principal  economic  true  grasses  in  the  State.  A  few  of  the  domesticated 
grasses  have  been  found  growing  in  the  wild  pastures.  Among  the  most 
valuable  of  these  are  the  Randall  grass  -(Festuca  elatior);  meadow  oat 
or  evergreen  grass  (Arrhenatherum  elatius) ;  Tennessee  fescue  (Festuca 
rubra  glauccscens) ;  various  species  of  Paspalum  and  Panicum;  blue  grass 
(Poa  pratensis) ;  annual  spear  grass  (Poa  annua) ;  English  blue  grass 


189 

(Poa  compressa)  and  other  species  of  Poa.  All  these  are  found 
intermingled  with  the  wild  indigenous  grasses  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent  in  the  highway  pastures  of  the  State.  The  beard  grasses  (Andro- 
pogons)  form  by  far  the  largest  number  of  grasses  that  occur  in  the  nat- 
ural pastures  on  the  Cumberland  table-land  and  on  the  Highland  Rim. 


WILD  LEGUMINOUS  AND  OTHER  FORAGE  PLANTS  FOUND 
IN  THE  HIGHWAY  PASTURES  OF  TENNESSEE. 

There  are  many  species  of  wild  vetches,  beans,  peas  and  nuts,  and 
several  grazing  plants  belonging  to  the  leguminous  family  that  are  found 
in  the  highway  pastures  and  woods  and  in  old  fields,  fence  corners  and 
waste  places  that  furnish  forage,  seeds  and  nuts  highly  nutritious  for 
stock.  The  wild  vetches  are  especially  abundant.  Among  the  most  valu- 
able are  the  small  flowered  vetch  CVicia  micrantha),  Carolina  vetch 


Drop  Seed  Grass — Sporobolus  Indicus. 

(Vicia  Caroliniana),  American  vetch  (Vicia  Americana),  Tennessee  milk 
vetch  (Astragalus  Tennessiensis),  Canada  milk  vetch  (Vicia  Canadensis). 
These  vetches  are  found  in  most  of  the  highway  pastures  of  the  State, 
sometimes  abundant,  sometimes  scarce,  adapting  themselves  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  soil,  some  preferring  a  limestone  soil,  others  a  sandy  soil. 
Some  of  these  make  excellent  food  for  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs. 

The  pencil  flower  (Stylosanthes  elatior)  is  found  on  the  sandy  soils 
throughout  the  State.  It  is  a  lowly  herb,  growing  in  tufts  and  the  stems 
are  downy  on  one  side.  It  has  an  orange  yellow  flower.  Cattle  are 
very  fond  of  it. 

Bush  clover  (Lespedeza).  There  are  six  or  eight  species  of  this 
genus  known  to  grow  in  Tennessee.  The  Lespedeza  repens,  Lespedeza 


140 

Stuvei.  Lespedeza  capitata,  Lespedeza  violacea,  Lespedeza  hirta  and 
Lespedeza  striata  or  Japan  clover,  are  all  valuable  grazing  plants.  The 
last  named  is  an  introduced  plant  and  has  been  treated  at  length  in  an- 
other place.  It  is  believed  that  the  indigenous  varieties  found  in  America 
are  equally  as  valuable,  though  probably  lacking  in  the  diffusive  qualities 
of  Japan  clover.  All  the  native  species  are  found  growing  on  dry  soils 
and  in  barrens,  though  they  are  not  averse  to  good  soils. 

Tick  trefoil,  beggars  ticks,  beggar's  lice.  There  are  sixteen  species 
of  tick  trefoil  growing  for  the  most  part  on  uplands  and  siliceous  and 
sandy  soils  of  the  State,  though  a  few  cling  to  the  limestone  soils  and  to 
rich  woods.  These  furnish  a  large  bulk  of  the  pea  vine  forage  found  in 
uncultivated  regions.  They  enrich  the  herbage  of  all  the  natural  pasture 
lands  of  Tennessee. 

The  wild  "clovers"  are  numerous  and  nutritious.  Among  the  best 
are  several  species  of  the  Petalostemon  and  the  Trifolium  genera.  Leafy 
prairie  clover  (Petalostemon  foliosus),  Buffalo  clover  (Trifolium  re- 
flexum),  white  clover  (Trifolium  repens),  and  black  medick  (Medicago 
lupulina)  are  all  valuable  forage  plants. 

The  Psoraleas  supply  good  food  for  cattle.  This  genus  prefers  up- 
lands and  open  piney  woods.  Psoraleas  melilotoides,  for  instance,  is 
quite  abundant  in  the  open,  sandy  woods  of  the  southern  counties  of  West 
Tennessee.  It  is  a  vigorous  perennial  with  stout,  deeply  growing  roots. 

Ground  nut  or  wild  bean  (Apios  tuberosa)  grows  wild  in  the  woods 
in  various  parts  of  the  State,  generally  in  low  grounds.  It  has  subterra- 
nean shoots  bearing  tubers  which  are  greatly  sought  after  by  swine.  It 
grows  with  a  climbing  vine  and  its  flowers  are  a  brownish  purple  with  a 
faint  odor  of  the  violet.  It  bears  legumes  from  three  to  five  inches  long 
which  contain  from  eight  to  ten  seeds.  Dr.  Gattinger  thinks  this  is  one 
of  the  wild  leguminous  plants  that  ought  to  be  introduced  into  cultivation. 

The  wild  kidney  bean  (Phaseolus  perennis)  is  a  very  common  plant 
in  every  part  of  Tennessee.  It  grows  in  woody  places.  It  has  slender 
climbing  stems  and  scimitar-shaped  drooping  pods  with  four  or  five  seed 
each.  It  forms  one  of  the  valuable  wild  beans  of  the  wooded  pastures. 
Another  species  of  this  same  family  is  the  long  stalk  kidney  bean  (Pha- 
seolus helvolus)  which  grows  on  sandy  soils.  The  stalks  are  several 
times  larger  than  the  leaves.  One  single  plant  makes  a  large  quantity  of 
herbage  for  stock. 

Still  another  member  of  this  family  is  the  creeping  kidney  bean  (Pha- 
seolus diversifolius)  which  grows  in  the  cedar  glades  with  a  prostrate 
spreading  stem  and  supplies  valuable  forage  for  hogs,  sheep  and  cattle. 

There  are  several  wild  peas  that  are  held  in  high  esteem  by  those 
who  depend  during  the  summer  and  fall  months  upon  the  woodland  pas- 
tures for  carrying  their  stock.  The  best  are:  The  Virginia  butterfly  pea 
(Centrosema  Virginianum),  the  milk  pea  (Galactia  mollis),  the  smooth 
milk  pea  (Galactia  glabella),  and  the  butterfly  pea  (Clitoria  Mariana). 
All  these  produce  foliage  and  fruit  that  are  eaten  by  cattle. 

The  hog  peanut  (Amphicarpaea  monoica)  grows  on  rich  soils  and  is 
a  common  plant  in  the  wooded  lands  around  Nashville.  The  herbage  is 
good  for  cattle  and  the  subterranean  nuts  for  hogs. 


141 

Several  sensitive  plants  grow  in  the  woods  on  dry  or  siliceous  soils 
in  every  part  of  the  State,  and  are  eaten  by  all  kinds  of  herbivorous  ani- 
mals. The  best  of  these  are  the  Desmanthus  brachylobus,  the  Schrankia 
uncinata  and  the  Schrankia  angustata,  the  two  latter  being  creeping 
briars. 

Besides  the  leguminous  plants  herein  mentioned  as  furnishing,  in 
highway  pastures,  sustaining  food  for  domestic  animals,  beggar's  lice 
(Cynoglossum  Morisoni)  may  be  added.  This  belongs  to  the  borage  and 
not  to  the  leguminous  family.  It  grows  in  fields  and  woods  and  the 
ripened  fruit,  which  consists  of  convexed-barbed,  flat  nutlets  slightly 
joined  together,  is  greedily  eaten  by  cattle.  These  nuts  ripen  about  the 
time  of  the  first  autumnal  frosts  and  are  highly  nutritious.  Cattle  often 
fatten  upon  them  during  the  latter  months  of  the  year. 

For  the  raising  of  swine  the  pasture  lands  of  the  mountain  districts 
offer  unusual  advantages,  for,  besides  the  nutritious  grasses  and  legumi- 
nous plants  there  are  succulent  and  aromatic  roots  in  which  these  animals 
delight.  There  is  also  an  abundance  of  mast,  which  supplies  food  for  cat- 
tle as  well  as  hogs  from  early  fall  through  the  winter  until  the  grasses 
and  forage  plants  spring  up  with  the  warmth  of  the  season.  The  mast  is 
both  bitter  and  sweet.  The  bitter  mast  is  composed  of  the  acorns  of  the 
oak  trees;  the  sweet  mast  is  composed  of  the  nuts  of  the  beech,  hickory, 
chestnut  and  walnut  trees  and  hazel  bushes.  Persimmon,  haw,  pawpaw, 
huckleberry,  blackberry,  dewberry,  mulberry,  service  berry,  wild  grapes 
and  other  fruits  and  berries  are  greedily  devoured  by  hogs.  Thousands 
of  head  of  these  animals  are  kept  fat  throughout  the  entire  year  by  the 
food  which  they  get  from  natural  pastures. 


INDEX. 


Alfalfa,  or  Lucern — Medicago  saliva 91 

For  Pasture 98 

Hay 94 

Soils 92 

Alsike  Clover — Trifolium  hybridum 87 

Arandinaria — ( Cane) 18S 

Australian  Oats — Bromus  unioloides 71 

Bermuda  Grass — Cynodon  dactylon 63 

Bermuda  Grass  and  Sheep 67 

How  propagated 64 

Blue  Grass — Poa  pratensis  53 

After  treatment 57 

Canada 60 

English ' 60 

How  and  when  to  sow 66 

Soils 53 

Texas 61 

Brome  Grass,  Smooth — Bromus  inermis 69 

Broom  Corn  Millet — Panicum  miliaceum 88 

Bur  Clover — Spotted  Medick,  Medicago  tnaculata 87 

Bush  Clover — See  Japan  Clover 104 

Canada  Blue  Grass — Poa  compressa 60 

Cane — See  Arundinaria 188 

Cat  Tail  Millet— See  Pearl  Millet 81 

Clover 74-90 

Coffee  Bean— See  Soy  bean 108 

Cowpeas —  Vigna  catjang 96 

As  soil  restorer 97 

Hay.... 97 

Soils 96 

Crab  Grass — Panicum  sanguinale . 52 

Crimson  or  Scarlet  Clover — Trifolium  incarnatum 84 

Domesticated  Leguminous  Plants. 73-111 

Domesticated  Grasses 9-72 

Eatonia 136 

English  Blue  Grass — Poa  compressa 60 

Evergreen  or  Meadow  Oat  Grass 33 

Evergreen  Grass — See  Tall  Meadow  Fescue 23 

Fescue  Grasses 26 

Festuca  duriuscula 27 

Festuca  myurus : 27 

Festuca 134 

Gama  Grass —  Tripsacum  dactyloides 39 

Grasses — How  to  tell  . .                                                 7" 


Grasses — Introduction 6 

Domesticated 9 

For  Lawns 124 

Hay  produced  in  Tennessee 122 

Herd's  Grass — Agrostis  alba  or  agrostis  vulgaris 14 

Soil 15 

When  to  sow 16 

When  to  cut 16 

Highway  Pastures  of  Tennessee 127 

Grasses  in 129 

Hungarian  Millet — Setaria  Italica  var.  Germanica 37 

Indian  Corn — Zea  mays 61 

Introductory  note 3 

Italian  Rye  Grass — Lolium  Italicum 29 

Soils 29 

Japan  Clover — Bush  Clover — King  Grass — Lespedeza  striata 104 

Johnson  Grass — Alopecurus  pratensis 22 

Soils 48 

King  Grass — See  Japan  Clover : 104 

Leguminous  Plants,  domesticated 73 

Lucern — See  Alfalfa 91 

Meadows  and  their  management 113 

Hay  harvest 120 

Manuring 117 

Troublesome  plants 119 

Meadow  Foxtail — Alopecurus pratensis 22 

Soils 22 

Meadow  Oat  Grass  or  Evergreen — Arrhenalherum  elatius 33 

Soils 33 

Melilotus — Melilotus  alba 90 

Millet,  Italian,  German  or  Golden — Setaria  Italica 34 

Common 38 

Hungarian 37 

Soils 34 

Oats — Arena  saliva,  Botanical  description 70 

Orchard  Grass — Dactylis  glomerata 17 

Saving  seed 20 

Soils 17 

Virtues  of 19 

Part  I — Domesticated  Grasses 9-72 

Part  II — Domesticated  Leguminous  Plants 73-111 

Part  HI — Meadows  and  their  management 112-141 

Paspalum,  hairy  flowered — Paspalum  oratum  or  dilatatum 71 

Pastures 122 

Best  grasses  for 123 

Peanuts — Arachis  hypogaea 99 

Cultivation 101 

Fertilizers 101 

Harvesting ' 102 

Soil..                                                                      100- 


Page 

Peanuts — Time  and  manner  of  planting 100 

Uses 103 

Vine  as  forage  crop 104 

Yield  per  acre 103 

Pearl  Millet — Pennisetum  typhoideum 31 

Soils 31 

Perennial  Rye  Grass — Lolium  perenne 27 

Soils 27 

Poa 134 

Preface 5 

Randall  Grass— See  Tall  Meadow  Fescue 23 

Red  Clover —  Trifolium  pratense 74 

Effects  of  clover  upon  soils 78 

Growth  and  manure 76 

Saving  seed  83 

Soils 75 

Sowing 75 

When  to  cut  and  how  to  cure 80 

Red  Top— See  Herd's  Grass 14 

Rescue  Grass — Bromus  unioloides 71 

Rough  Meadow  Grass — Poa  trivialis 60 

Rye  Grass — See  Perennial  Rye  Grass 27 

Italian 29 

Sainfoin  or  Ksparcet — Onobrychis  saliva 89 

Scarlet  or  Crimson  Clover —  Trifolium  incarnatum 84 

Sesame  Grass — See  Gamma  Grass 39 

Sheep  Fescue — Festuca  ovina 25 

Smooth  Brome  Grass — Bromus  inermis 69 

Soja  Bean— See  Soy  Bean 108 

Sorghum — Sorghum  saccharatum 41 

Forage  and  soiling  crop 44 

For  the  silo 47 

For  pasture 47 

Harvesting 44 

Soils , 42 

Varieties 42 

Soy  Bean,  Coffee  Bean,  Soja  Bean — Glycine  hispida 108 

Spotted  Medick— See  Bur  Clover : 87 

Sweet  £\ovzr—Melitotus  alba t 90 

Sweet  Vernal  Grass — Anthroxanthum  adoratum 63 

Tall  Meadow  Fescue — Festuca  elatior,  var.  pratensis 23 

Tennessee  Fescue — Festuca  rubra,  glaucescens 25 

Teosinte — Euchlcena  Mexicana,  E.  luxurians 40 

Texas  Blue  Grass — Poa  arachnifera 61 

Timothy — Phleum  pratense 9 

Cutting  and  curing 11 

Soils 10 

Stacking 13 

Precautions 13 

Wheat — Triticum  satirum,  Botanical  description 68 

White  Clover —  Trifolium  repens 89 

Wild  Leguminous  and  other  forage  plants  found  in  highway  pastures 

of  Tennessee . 139 

Yellow  Oat  Grass — Trisetum  flavescens 63 


901098 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


